


The Secrets We Keep

by Cassie Morgan (BADFalcon)



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Animal Transformation, Drama, Fantasy, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 10:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21336475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BADFalcon/pseuds/Cassie%20Morgan
Summary: Daniel has been keeping a pretty huge secret, but a ceremony on an alien planet makes it impossible to keep.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	The Secrets We Keep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [phantisma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantisma/gifts).

> HUGE THANK YOU to Natalie for the handholding, cheer-leading and beta on this. It's been brewing for a couple of years now but I've never had the confidence to even finish writing, let alone edit or post. But Natalie's coaxed me along, drawn the story out and here we are
> 
> I'm still mildly terrified of posting if I'm perfectly honest. This is the longest fic I've ever written and there have been plenty of blood, sweat and tears spilt in the process. But I'm super proud of it and hope you enjoy!

"Daniel, you in awake in here?" Jack rapped his knuckles on the door frame of Daniel's office, poking his head around the half-open door. He'd been aimlessly wandering the corridors of the base since Carter had kicked him out of her lab; he was wired and kinda jet-lagged because of the longer days on P7X-496 screwing with his sleep cycle. 

There was no response from Daniel, but the lights were on so he pushed the door open and walked in. "Daniel?" Daniel wasn't, Jack quickly realised, there. He had been though; his jacket was tossed haphazardly on the couch, the light on his desk was on, the surface littered with open books, post-it notes stuck everywhere and a pen and notebook on the chair. 

Jack huffed and picked up one of the books, flicking through it before putting it back down, glancing around guiltily like Daniel was about to bust him any second. Sighing, Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to leave – Teal'c would be awake, the big guy never slept and hey, he might even be up for staging a raid on the canteen. Decision made, Jack started to step back out through the door when a soft noise caught his attention. Frowning, he stopped mid-step and turned to look back into the room. The low snuffly whimpering sound came again, accompanied with a movement from under Daniel's jacket. "What the..." He crossed the room again and lifted Daniel's jacket up, eyes widening as he revealed a small Golden Labrador puppy, fast asleep, one of its back legs twitching as it dreamed. Jack swore in surprise and shook his head before laughing softly and crouching down, running his hand along the puppy's side, petting it gently. 

The puppy's head lifted and two big blue eyes look over at Jack, the puppy wriggling around on the couch to face him. "Hey there little fella," Jack held his hand out, letting the puppy sniff and lick at it, before rubbing the puppy's head. "Don't suppose you know where Daniel is, do you?" 

A soft bark and a wag of his tail was the puppy's only reply and Jack frowned again; he was talking to a puppy. In Daniel's office. In the SGC. "And how did you get down here, anyway?" 

The puppy continued licking Jack's hand and Jack stood, grunting as his knees creaked, and sat down. The puppy clambered onto his lap, yipping excitedly, paws on his chest and licking Jack's face. "I guess Daniel went to figure out where you came from and how you got down here, hey? So I should probably stay here and make sure you don't get into his stuff. He's a bit of a geek and he wouldn't like it if you started chewing on his books or peeing on some ancient artefact. Easy, boy, easy, there we go..." 

Jack pulled the puppy down onto his lap, trying to calm him down, petting him, pressing down on his butt, trying to get him to sit down. "C'mon, be a good boy, sit down." He kept petting and the puppy eventually flopped down across his lap, panting softly, tail thumping on the couch. "Good boy," Jack praised, constantly running his hand down the puppy's back. "You should go back to sleep," he suggested. "It's late, and one of us should be asleep." 

He bit back a yawn, rubbing behind the puppy's ears. The puppy started shaking on his lap and making a strange almost groaning sound. "You don't like that?" Jack frowned again, his hand soothing down the puppy's back. But the puppy's fur felt strange under his hand, like it was rippling. And then it wasn't fur but skin and there wasn't a puppy on his lap, but a very naked Daniel Jackson sprawled half-across his lap, half-across the couch. 

Both men swore and Daniel tumbled off Jack, onto the floor, curling into himself to try and protect his modesty. He grabbed his jacket from the couch and covered his crotch, cheeks flaming with embarrassment. He ran a shaking hand through his hair and exhaled slowly. 

"Daniel?" 

"Jack... Look, I can... Let me... uh... I can... um... explain... ah well, sort of. But I... need to... clothes..." Daniel scrambled across his office and grabbed a spare set of clothes from the cupboard in the far corner, pulling them on ignoring the looks Jack was shooting at him. He finished dressing, smoothed down his hair and put his glasses on before turning to face Jack. 

"The fuck is going on here, Daniel?" Jack was on his feet, pacing between the door and the couch, kicking books and papers out of his way. "Because unless I'm seeing things, you just turned into a _dog_!"

"Technically, Jack, you just saw me turn from a dog into a human," Daniel shrugged, wincing at Jack's growl. He took an involuntary step backwards, back hitting one of his bookshelves. 

"Daniel..." Jack stopped pacing and stood next to Daniel's desk, one hand resting on the wood.

"Jack." Daniel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can we talk about this in the morning? Like you said, it's late and one of us should be asleep..." 

"In the morning?" Jack repeated incredulously and took a step towards Daniel. He glared at Daniel and arms crossed over his chest. "In the morning, Daniel? You were just a **dog**. I think now is when we talk about it."

"Yeah, OK yeah." He turned his back to Jack, running his finger along the edge of one of his bookshelves. "I'm... uh... I'm... fuck... I'm.. uh... I'm a shape-shifter."

"You're a what?" Daniel opened his mouth to reply but Jack continued before he could speak. "Daniel, what are you talking about? There's no such thing as shape-shifters."

"No?" Daniel quirked an eyebrow and forced himself not to smile. "Then how do you explain what just happened? How did I turn into a dog if I'm not a shape-shifter?"

"Thought you said you turned from a dog to a human," Jack countered. "And it was... you... it... space dementia. Yeah, space dementia." 

"Space dementia?"

"It wasn't real," Jack explained slowly. "It was a hallucination. Brought on by too much time in space, in wormholes, in spaceships." 

"I see..." Daniel turned around and crossed the room to stand in front of Jack. He plucked a tuft of short, golden dog hair from Jack's t-shirt. "If it was all a figment of your imagination, how do you explain this?" 

Jack stared at the hair. He took it from Daniel's fingers and rubbed it between his own, lifting it to his face and sniffing it, brow furrowed and lips in a thin line. "OK, so... if it's real, show me. Do it again."

Daniel sighed and shook his head. "OK. OK, fine." He took off his jacket and t-shirt, hanging them on the back of his chair. "Just... don't freak out." He stood barefoot in front of the closed office door, feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging loosely by his side. Stretching his back, he exhaled deeply and closed his eyes before dropping to his hands and knees, his body appearing to shimmer and ripple. A heartbeat later and Daniel was gone, a large Golden Retriever stood in his place, tongue out and panting lightly. 

Jack stood and stared, his eyes bugging out of his head. He opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, shaking his head. He took a step backwards, stumbling back onto the couch, hand automatically reaching for his gun, swearing under his breath when he realised he was unarmed. "Daniel?" He asked, uncertainty clouding his tone. 

Daniel huffed and walked forward, head-butting Jack's knee, then inching forward and sticking his nose under Jack's hand, all but burrowing in so that Jack's hand was on his head. He whined, nudging until Jack sighed, his fingers scratching almost involuntarily. 

"You're a dog." Jack's fingers slid into soft fur and his breath caught in his throat. "You're a fucking dog!" His fingers rubbed behind Daniel's ears and Daniel's tail thumped against the floor, nose nudging Jack's wrist. Jack huffed out a laugh. "And you've got your pants caught around your back legs." Jack reached forward, trying to grab hold of Daniel's pants but Daniel moved with him, nuzzling against his hand. "Not helping, Daniel..." He stood up, one hand on Daniel as he moved around him. He managed to get one hand on Daniel's pants and had pulled them free of his legs when Daniel span around and barked at him. "Okay, okay, Daniel." Daniel growled playfully and grabbed hold of his pants with his teeth, trying to pull them back from Jack, his tail wagging. "Daniel..." 

Jack tried to take the pants, but Daniel pulled back, his butt wiggling and his paws pressing down on the fabric, tugging backwards, his claws skittering on the floor. "Daniel, stop... Hey! Stop that!" Jack couldn't stop himself from laughing at the realisation he was apparently playing a game of tug of war with Daniel over Daniel's pants. He smirked and tugged hard, Daniel tugging back, before he let go; Daniel's momentum sent him skidding backwards, overbalancing, his legs splayed out, reverting to human form, naked ass landing on the floor half under his desk. 

Daniel sighed and grabbed his pants, pulling them on as he stood up, before pulling his t-shirt over his head. "Are you happy now, Jack?" He stood up on the other side of his desk, arms crossed over his chest, licking his lips uncertainly. 

"You turned into a dog." Jack looked up at Daniel. "You were you, then you were a dog. And now you're you again." 

"Shape-shifter," Daniel reminded him, gently. He rounded the desk and sat down next to Jack, folding over, his arms crossed on top of his knees, forehead resting on his arms. "You OK?". 

Jack ran a hand over his face. "Uh..." 

"I've never shown anyone before and I'm normally more in control than that." He turned his head to the side, looking sideways at Jack over his elbow. "I don't know what came over me. I don’t normally... uh... do that." He laughed softly at Jack's confused expression. "The whole... y'know... playing... " He trailed off, biting his lips

"Playing tug of war with your pants?" 

Daniel blushed and hid his face. "Yeah." He exhaled slowly. "But I... um... It was actually kinda fun. I... It was nice to have someone to play with for once," he whispered. 

Jack squeezed Daniel's knee. "Dogs play," he said, simply.

"Thank you." 

They sat in silence for a moment before Jack stretched his legs out. "For the record, though, that was a different dog to the one I saw earlier." 

Daniel's head shot up and he stared at Jack, brow wrinkled. "Um... what?" 

"Different dog. That... you just then... full grown Labrador, right?" Daniel nodded, and so did Jack. "When I found... uh... you... asleep on the couch earlier? Puppy. Golden Labrador, sure, but a puppy, and a young one at that."

"That's not..." Daniel shook his head. "That isn't... I... you... No." He pushed himself to his feet and started pacing the length of his office, hands waving as he spoke. "It doesn't work like that, Jack. It just isn't possible that you saw a _puppy_. My other form grows as I do. It was a puppy when I was a kid, but now I'm an adult, it's an adult.” He picked up a small bronze statuette off his desk, turning in his hands. “A full grown golden Labrador."

"And I'm telling you I saw a puppy. Maybe twelve weeks old. Asleep, on your couch, under your jacket before clambering onto my lap for a fuss and turning into... well... you!"

"It isn't possible," Daniel insisted, voice rising. He rubbed his forehead and shook his head, opening his mouth to speak but Jack jumped in, interrupting.

"'It isn't possible' says the man who travels to other planets through a Stargate, rides in spaceships, ascended to a "higher being" and turns into a dog." Jack snorted and rose to his feet, grabbing Daniel's elbow. "Wait, did you just say you turned into a puppy when you were a kid?"

"Uh, yeah."

"So you've been shifting your whole life?" Jack paused and Daniel nodded slowly. "And you didn't think this might have been, y'know, important? Something we maybe needed to know about?!"

Daniel grunted as Jack gripped his arm tighter and pulled away. "No, Jack. I didn't. It's private. I have it under control." He moved to sit in his chair and pulled his jack back on. 

"You've got it under control. Right. That's why I walked in to find a puppy asleep on your couch under your clothes! For crying out loud, Daniel, what if it had been the General and not me?"

"But it wasn't!"

"It could have been!" Jack placed his hands on Daniel's desk and leaned forward. 

"I'd have thought of something to tell him," Daniel insisted

"Yeah? Like what?"

"I don't know...” Daniel trailed off and shrugged. “Space dementia?"

Jack shook his head. "This isn't a joke, Daniel!"

"I'm not fucking laughing!” Daniel ran the back of a hand across his forehead. “Look, I don't know what happened today,” he said sincerely. “I haven't shifted in my sleep since before... since I was a kid. I'm in full control of when and how long. When I was younger, sure, accidents happened and I'd shift but I learned to stop that, learned to control it. Do you really think I would have survived foster care if I was randomly changing into a damn dog?” Daniel broke eye contact with Jack and started straightening up the piles of papers and books on his desk. “I have it under complete control, Jack. I haven't shifted since before Abydos."

Jack stood up straight and watched Daniel carefully. "Until today."

Daniel sighed and nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose, still not looking at Jack. "Until today," he agreed reluctantly.

"In that case, and putting aside the fact this is all completely insane... What the hell is going on, Daniel?" 

"I don't know, Jack.” Daniel frowned and exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stop fidgeting. “I don't know, but I'll figure it out. Whatever this is, I'll get to the bottom of it. What I do know is that I don't want to talk about this. Not now, not ever." He wrapped his arms around himself, hands in his armpits and squared his jaw. 

"I can't just let this go, Daniel." Jack's voice dropped, his concern evident in his tone 

"Yes you can," Daniel's voice rose in irritation. "You can and you will. You have to, Jack. You can't tell anyone about this. Anyone. Ever." 

"Daniel.."

"Promise me, Jack!" Daniel picked an old hardback book up and wiped dust off the cover. He opened it up, running a finger absently over the page. 

Jack raised his hands. "OK, OK," he agreed. "But we have to..."

"No, no we don't. _WE_ don't have to do anything.” Daniel stood up, book still in his hands and he turned to the bookshelf at his side. “I have to get everything back under control and you... you... just go, Jack. Please.” He found a gap and slotted the book in before turning to face Jack. “I'm tired and we're heading off world again in... a little over 21 hours, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep." 

"OK" Jack nodded and stood. He crossed the room, stopping at the door, one hand resting on the door frame. "Look, if you ever..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Get it under control, Daniel," he ordered, closing the door. 

****

The following night found SG1 setting up camp on P2X-403; Daniel had found some artefacts he wanted to study further and Carter was techno-babbling about something. Jack stretched out on his back on top of his sleeping bag, arms folded under his head, staring up at the stars. 

Everything was silent except for Carter and Daniel's excited chattering and Jack felt himself drifting off, eyes sliding closed. He stirred at the sound of the fire being extinguished and opened one eye, watching Teal'c put it out. 

He sat up and stretched, rolling his neck. “OK kids, we got a big day tomorrow. Lots of exciting negotiations to be had so it's probably time we called it a night. Teal'c, take first watch. I'll take second. Carter, you're third and Daniel after that.” 

“Yes, Sir." Carter stood and grabbed her backpack and crawled into her tent. Jack waited until Daniel had turned in before falling asleep almost instantly as he always did. Daniel was snoring softly in the quiet night before Jack yawned, kicked off his boots and jacket and slid into his sleeping bag. 

"Good night, O'Neill."

"Remember to actually wake me for my watch this time." Jack rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, listening to Teal'c start walking the wide patrol around the perimeter of the camp. The regular footfalls and the chirp of something that sounded like a cricket lulled him into sleep. 

Some time later, the touch of something cold and wet on his arm interrupted his sleep. Something warm and furry crawled into his sleeping bag, settling in the crook of his arm. "Go to sleep, Daniel" Jack murmured, mindlessly stroking the fur of a puppy. He was almost back to asleep, fingers buried in the puppy's fur when his hand stopped and his eyes snapped wide open. He blinked several times to make sure he was still awake, squinting in the dark as he focused on the sleeping bags around him. Daniel's was empty. Jack's heart sank and unzipped his bag far enough to lift up the top – yup, that was a golden Labrador puppy, curled up against him. Jack swore under his breath and the puppy squirmed around and looked up at him, head tipped to one side and a soft woof. "Daniel?" he whispered, and the puppy licked his hand. 

Jack dropped his head back to the ground with a thump, running a hand over his face. The puppy squirmed and reached to him, paws resting on his mouth. Jack shifted the puppy to lay next to him, ignoring his whining as he wriggled out of the sleeping bag. "Aht," he held one finger up as he stood, looking quickly around the campsite and spotting Teal'c at the far perimeter. He glanced down at his watch, for the first time relieved that Teal'c hadn't woken him to take watch. "Sit," he raised one eyebrow, smirking as the puppy flopped down to its haunches in the bag. "Good boy. Now stay." Jack snorted in disbelief as Daniel actually obeyed him. 

He grabbed Daniel's sleeping bag and pulled it closer, pausing to make sure Teal'c didn't see the movement. There was no reaction and Jack exhaled, slipping into Daniel's bag, making sure to shield the puppy from view. He pulled his sleeping bag, and the puppy, next to him then reached over, petting him, smoothing his hands through fur until the puppy slowly settled down, curling up next to him. "That's it, good boy." Jack yawned, laying back down, his eyes sliding closed. "And feel free to shift back any time you like, Danny-boy. Before morning would be best. Before Teal'c and Carter see you." 

Jack woke again with the sunrise, groaning under his breath at the weight pressing down on him; Daniel had, at some point in the night, shifted back and was stretched out against him, fast asleep. "Daniel," Jack shook Daniel's shoulder gently to wake him but Daniel only snuffled in his sleep, wriggling closer against Jack. 

Jack sighed and shook Daniel harder. "Wake up, Daniel!" 

Daniel snorted, batting at Jack's hand and muttering under his breath. He rolled almost on top of Jack and wrapped his arms around him before opening one eye slowly and meeting Jack's amused gaze. "Jack. um. Hi." He blushed as he rolled away and sat up. 

“Morning sunshine.” Jack pushed himself to his feet, groaning as he stretched out, arms over his head, his back and knees popping. 

"Jack," Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why...” he paused and shook his head. “Why am I naked in your sleeping bag?" 

Jack snorted and passed Daniel his glasses, tossing him his pack. "Why do you think?" He asked, one eyebrow raised. 

"I... I don't..." Daniel frowned. He quickly dressed and ran a hand through his hair, looking around. "I... What the hell happened last night? " 

"Calm down, Daniel. I woke in the middle of the night because you, or should I say the# puppy, were climbing into my bag." 

"Puppy?" Daniel echoed, swearing. He started pacing back and forth, toes kicking the campfire. "You can't tell me to calm down and then tell me I'd shifted without my knowledge into a form I know I can't shift into, Jack!"

"I can, and you did." Jack stopped Daniel's pacing, grabbing him by his upper arms. "And I'm telling you to calm down and get yourself under control before Teal'c or Carter hear you. Unless you want to explain to them what you're freaking out over."

"No!" Daniel shook his head again and pulled out of Jack's grip. "No, OK, OK" He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "What happened?"

"I was kinda hoping you could tell me" Jack leaned back against the trunk of a tree, ankles crossed and arms folded across his chest. "All I know is that you apparently shifted in the middle of the night and crawled into my sleeping bag. I thought you said you had..." he paused and waved one hand at Daniel, "all this under control?"

"I did. I mean I do," Daniel insisted. "I haven’t changed in my sleep since before I started school. I don't understand..." he trailed off. "This isn't the time or the place, Jack. I'll sort it out when we get home." 

Jack raises an eyebrow. "You can 'sort it out' as much as you like, Daniel. You're not avoiding this conversation again." 

"I know." Daniel nodded, looking up and raising a hand to greet Carter as she climbed out of her tent. "When we get back, OK?" He said softly, so only Jack could hear him. 

Jack nodded in return. "I'll hold you do that." 

****

Daniel had bolted from the base right after their debrief and Jack had taken his time in following him to his apartment. He knew Daniel was stressed and he clearly didn't want to talk, but Jack was determined that this time, Daniel would tell him everything.

He approached the door with a six pack of beer and knocked, rocking on his heels as he waited, listening to Daniel moving inside. 

"Jack." Daniel's smile was forced and tight as he stepped back, gesturing for Jack to enter, a TV remote and a pen in his hands. 

"Daniel." Jack walked past him and aimed straight for the couch. He dropped down and kicked his shoes off, putting his feet up, mindful of the files and books on the table. He passed a beer to Daniel, before grabbing one for himself. Jack popped the top and took a drink, watching the infomercial playing on the TV and, out of the corner of his eye, Daniel fidgeting with a pen as he sat down. "Talk." 

Daniel twisted the bottle in his hands, picking at the label. "I don't know what you want me to say."

"Start with the truth," Jack suggested. 

"I told you the truth. I'm a shape-shifter, I turn into a dog and you've seen me do it." Daniel counted the points off on his fingers, resolutely not looking at Jack. 

Jack took another sip of his drink, drumming his fingers on his thigh, his eyes fixed on Daniel. "Yes," he agreed slowly. "And I've also found you twice, asleep, as a puppy, something you seem to be in denial over." 

"It's not... I don't... I can't... I don't understand it, and I can't explain it." Daniel trailed off with a sigh. He sipped his beer, forehead creased in thought. "I've been in control of my changes since I was a child. I worked with some shaman my parents knew through Nick. I don't know the specifics," he admitted, putting the beer down on the table and changing position, tucking one knee under him. He picked up the pen again, twirling it between his fingers. "I don't know why I shift or how or how my parents knew or how this shaman knew... it's just one of those things that's always been a part of me. Maybe I'm actually an alien," he snorted then paused, head tilted to one side and a thoughtful look on his face. "Huh. Anyway, this shaman taught me control and I haven't shifted in my sleep since before school."

"Except for how you have at least twice," Jack murmured. 

Daniel glared at Jack but ignored him. "When I have shifted, when I'm my dog, I'm lucid, I'm in control, I know what's going on. I _know_ that I've shifted and I'm aware of what I'm doing. But that time in my office, and the other night on P2X-403 I had no idea I'd shifted until I shifted back again." Daniel straightened his leg out and leaned forward. He took another sip of his beer, grimaced at the taste and put the bottle on the table, resting his elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on the television. "I'll get it back under control," he promised. 

Daniel's tone was flat, his eyes unfocused. Disconnected, that's what it seemed like. Daniel's words about himself seemed separate from the Daniel that Jack knew and that worried Jack. "Right. How? If you don't know it's happening, how are you going to do anything about it?" 

Daniel opened and closed his mouth silently before pursing his lips. "Well, from what you've said, the unconscious shifts seem to be happening when I'm asleep so I won't go to sleep." 

Jack rolled his eyes. "Not a solution, Daniel." 

Daniel looked at Jack for the first time. "No, I know. And I wasn't serious. I...” He sighed and stood up, walking across his apartment to the kitchen. “I don't know what to do, if I'm honest, but I _will_ figure it out.” He started grabbing dirty dishes from the kitchen counter, filling the dishwasher and Jack struggled to hear him over the noise. “I remember... I remember feeling... I was dreaming and there were the strongest sensations of being lost, scared, alone. I'm probably just overtired and stressed and it was some kind of subconscious reaction." 

Jack stood up and moved closer to the kitchen, taking in Daniel's tense body language. He frowned and leaned one shoulder against the wall, hands in his pockets, watching Daniel and trying to hide his worry. "Seeking out comfort?" 

Daniel nodded and turned the machine on. “I guess so.” 

"In my sleeping bag? There's... no other big revelations you've got for me?" Jack asked, one eyebrow raised, only half-teasing. 

Daniel straightened up and faced Jack, l. "What?” He laughed and it sounded genuine to Jack. “No! Nothing like that!” Daniel wiped his hands on his thighs and licked his lips. “Jack, you're the only other person who knows that I shift and I trust you – it makes sense that the dog knows this, even if I'm not in control, and that why it sought you out." 

"Makes sense." Jack nodded and looked around the kitchen. “You done in here? Games about to start...” He flashed a grin at Daniel before moving back to the living room. He picked his beer back up and grabbed the remote, changing channels to find the hockey game. Daniel followed Jack and sat down next to him on the couch. "If there's anything I can... or if you need to shift... or... Well, you know where I am." 

"Thanks." Daniel picked his beer back up and exhaled, his head falling back against the back of his couch, his eyes sliding closed. 

Jack watched Daniel carefully and rubbed his forehead with the side of his hand. That had felt entirely too easy. Daniel seemed sure he'd figure it out but Jack wasn't convinced; his gut was telling him this was a lot more serious than Daniel was letting on, that something was very wrong and that maybe he should speak to Dr. Fraiser. He'd figure that out tomorrow though – tonight he'd let Daniel think he'd won. 

*****

Jack tossed his t-shirt into the laundry basket and finished brushing his teeth. He unfastened his jeans, pushed them down and stepped out of them, kicking the bedroom door closed. Switching the lamp on, he cursed to himself as the phone on his night-stand starting ringing. He looked at the clock; who the hell would be ringing him at 23:30 on a Wednesday night? He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at the called ID. Daniel. His stomach sank, a bad feeling growing in his chest as he answered the phone. 

“Daniel?” 

“Jack,” came the reply, followed by some crackling and the sounds of Daniel moving around. “Hey, it's me. I know it 's late but... uh... can you come over to my place?” 

Jack's feeling of dread only increased at the shaking he could hear in Daniel's voice. He grabbed his discarded jeans and was already half way into them before he answered. “Is everything OK? What's wrong?”

Daniel's response was quiet. “No. I... Not really. Can you just...” 

“Of course I can,” Jack promised. Daniel's sigh of relief was as clear as if he was in the room and Jack's bad feeling ratched up a notch. 

“Thank you.” 

“I'm on my way. Just keep calm,” Jack suggested. He quickly finished dressing and grabbed his keys. Slamming his front door shut, Jack jogged to his truck and gunned the engine. The wheels squealed as he pulled out of his drive. “Stay with me Daniel. Talk to me. Tell me what's going on. Daniel?” 

There was no response from Daniel, only what sounded like the phone being dropped to the ground, followed by a crashing noise. Jack swore out loud and smacked his hand on the steering wheel. “I'm only a couple of minutes away. Hang in there, Daniel!” He heard a faint bark and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, his grip on the steering wheel growing white knuckled. 

The next few minutes seemed to last for hours as Jack raced across town, finally pulling up outside Daniel's apartment building. He took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the complaints from his knees. He knocked rapidly on the door and called Daniel's name, listening intently but he couldn't hear anything. Swearing under his breath, Jack remembered he had Daniel's spare key on his keyring and unlocked the door.

"Daniel?" Jack pushed the door open, switching on the lights when he realised it was dark. Daniel didn't reply. "You wanted to... oh." 

He stopped, picked up Daniel's t-shirt and jeans from the floor and dropped them on the couch. "Daniel?" He tipped his head to one side, listening for any response but the apartment was silent. 

"Daniel?" He called again, making his way around the apartment, checking in all the usual places he would expect to find a dog in but not finding him. He found himself back in the living room, brow furrowed in confusion; where the hell was Daniel? 

A soft rustling from behind the entertainment center caught Jack's attention and he peered over the top, smiling as he found the puppy. "There you are." He leaned over, trying to grab the puppy. His frown deepened when the puppy whimpered and tried to scramble away from him. "Daniel? What's wrong?" He moved to kneel next to the center, biting down a wince as his knees popped and reached in for the puppy. 

The puppy growled and nipped at Jack's fingers. "Like that is it, huh? You called me, remember? You asked me to come over. Except for how you probably don't remember." Jack slid down to the floor, legs out in front of him, ankles crossed and his back against the wall.

"Am I expecting you to answer? Please tell me you can't talk." A soft woof was the puppy's only reply, and Jack looked over to see him uncurled, laying down, still shivering, head on his paws, watching Jack carefully. 

"A talking dog is where I draw the line.” Jack wasn't going to admit it but the whole situation had him feeling like he was going nuts! “You gonna come out of there yet? Are you gonna bite me again if I try and pull you out?" He reached a hand in, pulling it back when the puppy growled and barked, baring his teeth. 

"Quit biting!" Jack sighed, his head falling back against the wall. "I thought you said your dog liked me? Cos I gotta tell you, I'm not feeling the love here, Daniel. You're not scared of me, are you? Again, I remind you, you asked me to come over and I'm not leaving until... Well, I'm just going to sit here. You should probably come out before you turn back, or you're going to get stuck." 

It took a few minutes of quiet, but the puppy made his way out from behind the television, creeping his way out, sitting next to Jack's leg, watching him. He put one paw on Jack's knee, then jumped back to see what would happen. Jack simply opened one eye. "Hi." He held his hand out, fingers loose. The puppy flinched, whined and took a step back before shaking himself and moving close, sniffing Jack's fingers. 

"That's it, see it's only me." The puppy licked Jack's hand and Jack rubbed the puppy behind his ears. "Good boy. You don't need to be scared of me, I'm not gonna hurt you." He continued petting and rubbing until the puppy had relaxed, his tail thumping against his leg.

"Good boy. Planning to shift back anytime? No, you can't come on my lap; if you change back that'll be embarrassing for both of us." The puppy flopped down next to Jack, panting, his head on Jack's knee. "Good boy." Jack smoothed his hand down the puppy's side, feeling him relax. "Good boy. That's it Daniel, nothing to be afraid of. It's OK" He felt fur start to shimmer and pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the puppy's whine. Grabbing Daniel's clothes from the couch, he kept his back turned and held them out behind him. 

"Thanks," Daniel sighed, taking them. "How long have you been here?" he asked, the rasp of denim over skin telling Jack he was pulling his jeans on. 

"About thirty minutes."

"Oh, and I was..."

"Behind there." Jack turned around as Daniel pulled his t-shirt over his head, and hooked his thumb at the entertainment center "Hiding. You bit me, by the way."

"Behind... bit... what?" Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "No, I don't... " He looked over at the entertainment center and snorted. "I don't fit behind there. The dog doesn't fit behind there.” He frowned and squinted, looking around. “Where are my glasses?"

"The puppy does." Jack replied simply. "And I haven't seen your glasses, where were you when you called me?” 

Daniel swore and walked out of the room, moving towards the bathroom. He came back, wiping his glasses on the bottom of his t-shirt.

“What's going on, Daniel?"

"I don't know," he admitted quietly, pressing his lips together and collapsing onto his couch. "I'm losing control, Jack. I lost over half an hour this evening. I was reading and then I was in the bathroom and time had passed. Then at some point after calling you, I shifted again and... well you know the rest."

Jack nodded. "I came in and found you hiding behind there." He ran hand through his hair, sitting down in a chair. "Daniel,” he said carefully, “you were terrified when I got here. What were you so afraid of?"

"Scared? Daniel scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I wasn't scared.” 

Jack quirked an eyebrow. “I know a scared dog when I see one.” 

“Well you must have gotten it wrong this time.” Daniel shot back. “Maybe the dog thought you were playing?” 

“No, I didn't. I'm only telling you what I saw.”

Daniel shook his head. “No.” Jack recognised the stubborn tilt to his jaw and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, watching as Daniel started pacing back and forth. “You saw wrong. I wasn't scared. I called you. I wanted you here, remember?” 

“Yup, I remember. And... why did you do that?” Daniel didn't respond and Jack sighed. “Daniel?” Still no response and Jack raised his voice, tone stern in his attempt to get Daniel to focus. “Daniel!”

Daniel stopped, leaning to see behind the entertainment center, staring down at the small space behind it. “It doesn't make sense.” 

“Now _that_ we agree on. You called me because you knew something was wrong, right?” 

Daniel turned around and nodded. “Maybe the dog sensed that, it knew something was wrong but it came out as fear?” 

"Fear of me?” Jack asked carefully, meeting Daniel's eyes. 

"I don't know, maybe? I mean, maybe it thought you were angry."

"I'm not angry, Daniel. Certainly not with a puppy."

"No, not with the puppy, but what about with me, Jack?" Daniel fought the urge to fidget under Jack's gaze. "I didn't tell you I was a shifter, you were... ah... irritated to find out I was starting to lose control. I thought you were gonna... I don't know... " Daniel trailed off and ducked his head, glancing up at Jack.

Jack snorted and shook his head. “I'm not angry. I'm flattered you trust me. But mostly, I'm worried. This... whole situation is getting to be a problem. Have you thought about what would happen if you shifted in the middle of a fire fight off world?"

Daniel shrugged one shoulder then sat down. "I'd be able to run away faster," he offered, growing somber when Jack didn't laugh. "I don't know. That's why I called you, because I don't know what to do." 

"What about this shaman you said you saw when you were a kid? Could he help?"

"I don't know. Maybe, I guess, but I don't know who he was, let alone whether he's still alive or how we'd contact him." Daniel ran his hands through his hair, frustration clear on his face. 

"OK, what about when you shifted as a kid, was there anything that triggered it?" 

"I don't..." Daniel frowned then closed his eyes and tried to remember. "Emotion, I think. Strong emotion. I remember the dog reacting to things that were going on around me. But I've tried doing the techniques he taught me, and they're not working. I even tried meditating with Teal'c."

"What about when you shift on purpose?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "What about it?"

"Can you still do it? Are you still in control?" 

"I don't know," Daniel admitted. "I haven't tried."

"You don't think maybe that might be a good idea?" Jack asked, one eyebrow raised. He leaned back, watching Daniel carefully. 

Daniel shook his head. "No, not really." He sighed when Jack stared silently at him. "Yeah, it probably would. So, you want me to shift and... prove I'm still in control? How do you want me to do that?" He asked, when Jack nodded. 

"Good question." Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "How about... um... sit, stand, walk around the couch then lay down in front of it?” Daniel snorted and Jack chuckled. “What, it's easy to remember and we'd know that you're still, y'know..." He gestured at Daniel. "You." 

"Yeah," Daniel agreed slowly, reluctantly. He stood up, placed his glasses on the coffee table and pulled his shirt off. "Sit, stand, walk around the couch then lay down in front of it. At least you didn't tell me to roll over and play dead." He rolled his eyes at Jack's chuckle and stripped out of his jeans. "Y'know, if you just wanted to see me naked again..."

"Daniel..."

"Yeah." Dropping to his hands and knees, Daniel arched his back. His head fell forward, he took a deep breath in and as he exhaled he shifted into a Golden Retriever. He stretched out, shaking out his fur and wagging his tail, barking at Jack before sitting down and scratching behind his ear. Staring at Jack, he yawned and stood up, stretching his legs out again before padding slowly around the couch and laying down at Jack's feet. 

"And you just turned into a dog again...” Jack couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. “Good boy," Jack smirked when Daniel growled at him, then dropped his hand to scratch Daniel's head; Daniel leaning into the caress, whining when Jack stopped. "Can you understand me?" He asked, nodding when Daniel woofed softly. "I'll take that as a yes. Bark once if it's a yes?" Another woof and Jack laughed, reaching down and patting Daniel's side. "Okay, so you said you were blacking out. How about we test your memory? When you shift back, tell me whether you prefer tennis balls or baseballs. Can you do that for me, Daniel?" A further woof and the dog stood up, walking away from Jack and out of the room. 

A few minutes later Daniel walked back in, buttoning up his shirt. He rolled his neck and sat back down on the couch to face Jack, putting his glasses back on. "You need to be a little more specific, Jack. What context are the tennis and baseballs in?" His cheeks flushed pink as he continued. "Assuming you mean for playing 'fetch', tennis balls."

Jack chuckled. "You're still you," he confirmed, lips curving up before he sobered again. "So you're in control when you shift by choice." 

Daniel nodded slowly. "Yes," he drew the word out, chewing on his lower lip. 

"But?"

"There was this itching sensation at the back of my brain, this feeling of how easy it would be to let go and just..." He trailed off with a sigh. "It took a lot more concentration than normal." He pushed himself up from the couch and shuffled piles of paper around on the table in agitation before going into his kitchen and opening the fridge. He grabbed two beers and handed one to Jack. "So now what?"

"Now..." Jack took a drink. "Now we do nothing. Get some rest, it's late and you're exhausted, Daniel," Jack pointed out when Daniel started to protest. "Tomorrow morning we go and see Doc Fraiser"

"What?" Daniel narrowed his eyes, slamming his bottle down and turning to face Jack."I don't need to see a doctor, Jack. I'm not sick!" 

"That's not..."

"Turning into a dog isn't an illness for me. It's not something that needs fixing, that needs to be _cured_.”

"But doing it when you don't mean to is a problem," Jack pointed out, trying to remain calm.

Daniel deflated and rubbed his temples. "I know. Sorry, I didn't mean to..." He exhaled and sat down next to Jack again. "But what exactly do you think Janet's going to be able to do? I doubt she knows anything about out-of-control shape-shifting." 

"No," Jack agreed. "She probably doesn't." He held one finger up when Daniel opened his mouth to argue. "But she knows **you**. She can give you a once-over, make sure there's no physical cause, do bloods, rule out some kind of alien virus that's throwing your system out of whack." 

Daniel scowled. "I don't..."

"Look, she's obviously never found anything unusual in all your previous exams and I'm betting she won't this time. I just want to make sure." Jack leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I could always order you to see her," he offered, one eyebrow raised. "Ground you until you go." 

"You wouldn't..." 

"Wouldn't I? C'mon, you know me better than that."

Daniel shook his head. "Jack..." 

"It's your choice," Jack shrugged, leaning his head back against the back of the couch and closing his eyes. 

"Fine,” Daniel ground out between clenched teeth. “I'll see Janet in the morning. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." Jack grinned at Daniel, humourlessly, and took another long drink from his bottle, emptying it. 

"I suppose you're staying?"

Jack looked him over and nodded. "Just throw me a pillow, I'll be fine."

"No, the bed's set up in the spare room."

Jack watched him walk away and sighed. It wasn't like he expected Daniel to run away but he'd expected at least a token protest. Daniel was clearly more shaken than he let on and Jack just added it to his growing concern about the whole situation. 

*****

"Last time I checked the infirmary was on level 21, not 18," Jack said dryly, leaning against the back wall of the elevator, arms folded over his chest. 

Daniel rolled his eyes, exhaled slowly and pulled his bag higher on his shoulder. "I just want to drop some stuff in my office first." 

"You're stalling, Daniel."

Turning to face Jack, Daniel opened and closed his mouth wordlessly before sighing and shaking his head. "Maybe a little," he admitted. "This isn't easy for me, Jack." 

"No, I don't suppose it is. But putting it off isn't gonna help." Jack placed a reassuring hand on Daniel's arm.

"Don't..." Daniel shrugged Jack's hand off and wrapped his arms around himself. "Just... "

Jack nodded and fell silent, watching the numbers flash down until the elevator doors opened with a soft ping. He gestured for Daniel to leave, then followed him down the corridor to his office. He leaned against the door-jam, watching Daniel slowly unpack his bag, fussing around, straightening things up until it was clear he wasn't going to voluntarily leave again. Jack cleared his throat, waiting for Daniel to look up before tapping his watch. "Don't make me drag you there," Jack warned. 

Daniel's eyes went wide and he sank down into his chair. "I can't do this, Jack." He buried his face in his hands. "What if..." 

"Yes, you can." Jack perched on the edge of Daniel's desk, squeezing his shoulder gently. "We go see Fraiser, tell her you're not feeling right and she does her tests. When she gives you all the clear, you can drag me around that Aztec exhibit at the museum that you've been talking about all month." 

"You've got it all planned out, huh?" Daniel's lips curved up and he met Jack's eyes. "You make it all sound so... easy."

"You betcha!"

"Would you actually pay any attention to the exhibit or what I'd tell you about it?"

"I'd... try," Jack shrugged.

Daniel smiled at that and nodded. "No you wouldn't."

"No," Jack agreed, "probably not. But you're still stalling." 

"Jack..." Daniel trailed off but stood up, hands in his pockets. He nodded at Jack, turning and walking towards the door. "Yeah, OK. Let's go and see Janet." Jack followed Daniel out and they fell into step, walking silently along the corridor to the elevator. 

Jack hit the button, calling it and turned to speak to Daniel, frowning when Daniel wasn't next to him. "Daniel?" A flash of motion caught his eye and he looked down, swearing under his breath at the sight of the puppy, sitting in a pool of Daniel's clothes. The puppy barked at him and wagged his tail. "Daniel, sit!" 

The puppy barked again before racing down the corridor, back in the direction of Daniel's office. "For crying out..." Jack grabbed Daniel's clothes, carefully pocketing his glasses, and set off after him. He frowned when the puppy stopped at a junction, a few steps from Daniel's door and turned in a circle, nose up, sniffing with a low whine. 

"What's the matter?" Jack asked, crouching down and watching the puppy paw at the ground. He crept forward, keeping his voice low and soothing. "Hey, it's OK I bet you're just confused. All the funny smells and all the people." The puppy stopped whining, his tail swishing from side to side. "You don't need to be scared. You know me. It's Jack. Why don't you come with me, I'll take you back to your... to Daniel's... to...you know what I mean. Take you back to the office and..." He reached out for the puppy, intending to grab him by the scruff of the neck but the puppy ran down the corridor. 

"Damnit, Daniel!" He stumbled forward, catching his balance before he fell and turned down the corridor after the puppy. "Come here, Daniel," he hissed, grinding his teeth when he came to another cross-section and realised he had no idea which way the puppy had gone. "Daniel?!" Standing in the corridor, hands on his knees, Jack swore before straightening up and scratching the back of his head. How hard could it be to find one small puppy? Snorting he started to turn to his right when the sound of barking, followed by Carter's voice caught his attention. And if Carter had found Daniel in his puppy form... Jack turned left and jogged down the corridor towards the sound.

He found Carter around the next corner, wriggling puppy in her arms, licking her face. "Carter?"

"Sir, I can..." She shook her head, running her hand over the puppy's head. "Actually, no, I can't. I just found him running around the corridor."

"You found him," Jack sighed in relief, taking the puppy from her arms and petting him. "Thank you, Carter." He chuckled when the puppy licked his chin and held him against his chest. "I was getting worried about him. Don't go running off that like, Daniel!" Jack kicked himself when he realised he'd just called the puppy 'Daniel' and hoped that maybe Carter wouldn't notice. 

“Um, Sir?" Carter frowned. "You... you called your dog _Daniel?_"

"What? Oh, um, no. He's not my dog.” Jack started to say that it was Daniel and shook his head. “It’s a long story, Carter.”

“How did you even get him past security?” Carter asked, reaching out to pet the puppy.

“I didn’t.” She wasn’t going to let him get away with some story, he could tell.

“You probably should take him home, before General Hammond finds out.” 

“He’s not my...” The puppy squirmed and tried to escape and Jack had to scramble to keep a grip on him. “Come on Daniel, give me a break here!”

She chuckled a little as the puppy renewed his efforts to get free. “Seriously, does Daniel know you named a dog after him?”

“I didn't... he...this dog is Daniel.” Jack froze as he realized he’d said it out loud, eyes flashing to Carter to see if she’d heard him.

“Right. Are you playing jokes on Teal’c again, Sir?” She bent down to pick up the ball of Daniel's clothes that Jack had dropped. “Nice touch with the clothes.” 

"I'm serious, Carter. This puppy, right here, is Daniel. As in Daniel Jackson.” He held a hand up to stop her from interrupting. “I know this sounds nuts but this really is _Daniel_. He's a shape shifter or something. He can explain it a lot better than I can. When he's not a dog. Come back to his office and we'll explain everything. And bring his clothes." Jack turned, holding the puppy more securely and walked back towards Daniel's office, Carter following him. 

Jack kicked the office door shut behind him and sank down onto Daniel's couch, putting the puppy down on the floor. "Remember, no eating or peeing on anything. Now go, calm yourself down and shift back so you can explain it all to Carter."

"Sir..." Carter shifted nervously from foot to foot, teeth worrying her lower lip. "Are you..." she frowned as the puppy started sniffing at her ankle. "You really do believe this puppy is Daniel?"

"I don't **believe** it, Carter. I'm telling you that the puppy **is** Daniel, that Daniel turns into a puppy. That's precisely what I'm saying."

"Daniel. As in _our_ Daniel?" She crouched down and held her hand out to the puppy, letting him lick her fingers before smoothing down his back and over his tail. "Permission to speak freely?," she asked, looking up at Jack. Jack nodded and Carter took a deep breath before continuing, her fingers still idly playing through the puppy's fur. "Are you... have you been drinking, Sir?"

“No,” he replied with an indignant snort. “And I'm not on drugs. He held up one finger, anticipating her next question. "I haven't hit my head. I know how it sounds and if I was you I probably wouldn't believe me either. 

"But, then..." Jack could hear the change in her tone from scepticism to curiosity. "Why... Why do you believe it?"

"Because I've seen it." Jack exhaled, his head falling back against the back of the couch. "I've watched him shift from human, to dog, and back again.

Carter opened and closed her mouth wordlessly before crossing the room and sitting down next to Jack. "Oh." 

"You'll see," Jack promised, turning to face her and flashing her a quick grin. "When he shifts back." He rested his elbows on his knees and watched the puppy padding around the room, sniffing at everything. "He'll shift back when he's calmed down. He's normally in control but he was nervous and..." Jack trailed off, shaking his head as the puppy crawled under Daniel's desk and laid down. 

Jack knelt down in front of the desk, reached in and grabbed the puppy by the scruff of his neck, picking him up and cradling him against his chest. "You'll be far too big to fit under there when you shift back." Sitting back down, Jack placed the puppy on his lap, rubbing his head. "Speaking of shifting back, Carter thinks I'm nuts so can you please hurry up and do it?"

The puppy whined and butted his head against Carter's hand, his tail thumping against Jack's chest. Carter chuckled and stroked his head.

Jack frowned at the puppy as a thought occurred to him. "If you did this on purpose to avoid seeing Fraiser, I'm gonna be pissed.” 

The puppy huffed and turned in a circle, sniffing at the couch cushion before he laid down with a sigh, his head on Jack's thigh, his eyes closing. Jack dropped his hand to the puppy's head, stroking his fur. “Fine, you win. Now will you please shift back?” 

"Sir, I don't think..." Carter started to say a few minutes later but was interrupted by Jack

"There, that's better." Jack sighed in relief at the first shimmer in the golden fur. "Good boy, Daniel. Carter, you might want to..." he trailed off, putting the puppy down on the floor and gestured for Carter to turn around. "He's shifting back" he explained, "and his clothes are on the table," he quirked an eyebrow, waiting for her to understand. 

"Oh!" Carter's cheeks flushed lightly and she stood up and turned around. But, as Jack expected, she couldn't quite contain her curiosity and turned ever so slightly to look. Her eyes widened as the shimmering continued and the puppy on the floor grew into Daniel. Jack smirked as she reacted to Daniel's nudity with a gasp, her blush deepening as she turned away, before he averted his own eyes to give Daniel some semblance of privacy. 

"You good Daniel?" Jack waited for Daniel's muttered reply before opening his eyes to see a fully dressed Daniel settling his glasses on his nose. 

Daniel stretched his arms over his head, arching his back then wincing and rubbing his hip. "Peachy." He groaned, rolling his neck with a pop that Jack could hear, then stopped, back stiffening when he met Carter's eyes across the room as she turned around. "Jack, what the hell is she doing here?" 

Carter stared at Daniel, her eyes wide and shining with wonder. A wide grin split her face. "OK So... um.. wow. Daniel, you..." She took a step forward, closing the gap between them and reached out to touch Daniel. "You really are a sh..." 

Daniel swore and knocked Carter's hand away, peddling backwards. "You **told** her?" He glared accusingly at Jack. 

Jack sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, moving to stand between them. "Easy, Daniel. Carter, you OK?" 

"Fine," Carter nodded and sat back on the couch, crossing her legs and watching Daniel carefully. "Daniel?"

"She found the puppy running around the base, Daniel," Jack started to explain. 

"Oh, so you're saying it's my fault you told her." Daniel rubbed his forehead, pacing back and forth across his office. 

"Yeah, I'm saying it's your fault." Jack winced and sat down on the edge of the couch, arms crossed over his chest "Because your stubborn ass won't admit you've got a problem. You shifted and went running around the base, Daniel! What was I _supposed_ to tell her?"

"You could have said anything, Jack. You could have made something up. You didn't have to tell her!"

"_She_ is right here!" Carter scowled and pushed herself to her feet, hands on her hips. 

Daniel ignored Carter, his pacing bringing him toe to toe with Jack. "She didn't know it was **me**, Jack," he growled in his face. "Just that there was a puppy."

Carter took a step forward, looking as though she was getting ready to intervene. Jack glanced over at her and shook his head. She nodded her understanding and put both hands up to say she wasn't going to interfere and stepped back again, watching them warily. 

"Calm down, Daniel," Jack warned, grabbing Daniel's upper arms. "Right, a puppy. In the SGC. How exactly was I going to explain that?" 

Daniel pulled out of Jack's grip. "It came through the gate. It wandered in. I don't know, you normally think of some bullshit to spin!"

"Daniel, Colonel O'Neill is right. He tried and I didn't believe him."

"But you could believe that I was a shape-shifter who turned into a puppy?" Daniel countered, one eyebrow raised. 

Carter shrugged helplessly. "It's not like it's the weirdest thing that's ever happened around here," she offered, wincing at her choice of words when Daniel's face turned thunderous again. 

"So now I'm weird? Great!" Daniel turned his back on them both. "Get out, both of you."

"Daniel... " Carter sighed and moved closer to Daniel, placing her hand gently on his arm. She waited for him to turn and look at her. "That's not what I meant. It came out wrong and I'm sorry." Daniel nodded once, sharply and Carter smiled softly at him. "I think it's incredible. I mean, it's crazy, right? But, you were a puppy. I saw it. And now here you are..."

"I'm not a science experiment," Daniel snapped, cutting her off. "So don't even ask if you can run any tests because the answer is no. Damnit, this is why I don't tell anyone, Jack! Everyone thinks I'm a freak or wants to lock me up in a fucking laboratory and..."

"You're not a freak, and no one is running any tests, Daniel," Jack promised gently. He tipped his head to one side in thought. "Well, except Fraiser." He held one finger up as Daniel started to protest. "You promised. Now will you _please_ try and calm down before you shift again?"

"Anger triggers a shift?" Carter couldn't contain her curiosity, despite the annoyed looks both Jack and Daniel shot her. "Sorry," she bit her lip, not sounding at all sorry which made Jack snort. 

"No," Daniel shook his head, rolling his eyes when Jack answered 'yes'. He took his glasses off and rubbed his face, looking suddenly tired. He pinched the bridge of his nose and seemed to sag, the fight draining from him. "Okay, Jack's right. Sort of. It's... complicated." He sat down on the couch, elbows resting on his knees and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. 

Carter took a seat next to him and Jack perched on the arm of the couch. He flashed them both a grateful look. "I'm calm, Jack. I'm not going to shift." He paused and licked his lips before speaking again. "At least I don't think I am. I don't have a clue any more," he admitted with a sigh. "If we have to talk about this... and I get it, we do," he nodded, "can we not do it here? Can we please go somewhere sa... else?" 

Jack nodded and tried not to focus on the defeat rolling off Daniel in waves. He rested a hand reassuringly on Daniel's shoulder. "Your place," he suggested and Daniel nodded. "OK. I'm driving." 

*****

Carter placed her empty take-out carton on the table, still idly playing with her chopsticks. "So," she said eventually, eyes darting between Jack and Daniel. "If I've got this straight – Daniel, you're a... uh... shape-shifter and you change into a dog but something's gone wrong and you've lost control." She paused, watching Daniel's expression of surprise. "How am I doing so far?"

"Uh... " Daniel pushed his glasses back up his nose and glared at Jack. "Pretty much spot on, yeah. How did you... Jack, what did you..."

"The Colonel hasn't told me anything," Carter shook her head. "Just what you told me in your office."

"Then how..."

Carter smiled and shrugged a shoulder. "You know me. I take the bits and pieces of information I've got and composite a theory. You do the same. Hell, if we were faced with someone else that turned into a dog, you'd be reciting lore about shapeshifters and werewolves and mythology and..."

"Carter's right.” Jack placed his empty mug on the table. “You'd have a slide-show prepared." 

Daniel managed a small laugh and nodded his head. "I guess you're right. Sorry, I'm just not used to talking about this."

"I can understand that." Carter nodded, a sympathetic expression on her face. She reached over and patted Daniel on the knee. "You're normally in control of when you.."

"When I shift?" Daniel nodded, his attention on his food. "Yeah." 

Jack waited a few beats for Daniel to tell Carter the rest and sighed when no further information was offered. "He told me about a shaman his grandfather knew who helped him get control."

"Nick?" Carter's eyes widened in surprise. 

Daniel sighed. "Jack..." He rubbed his forehead with the heel of one hand. "I don't... I don't think we need to rehash all of this."

"Daniel." Jack shot back. "I know you don't, but Carter needs to know everything if we're gonna, y'know, figure this thing out."

"Sorry, Daniel, I know this can't be easy. I guess you've tried the techniques that worked back then?" 

"Yeah. They didn't work." He shrugged one shoulder. "I tried to Kel'No'Reem with Teal'c too but that didn't work either."

Carter bit her lip. "What's different? Between when you learned to control it and now?"

Daniel paused, swallowing loudly before answering. He picked his take-out carton back up off the table, unfolded it and started ripping the cardboard into strips. "When I was a kid and I wasn't in control, I still knew when I was shifting, knew when it was about to happen even if I couldn't do anything about it."

"But now you don't."

"No. I don't know it's happened until afterwards." Daniel took a deep breath, looking over at Jack before continuing. "It's getting worse. At first it was just when I was asleep but now it's happening more and more." 

"And what about when you're... uh... when you've shifted. Do you know what's going on, are you in control?"

"When I'm a dog, you mean?" Daniel tried to tease, but it fell flat. Jack snorted anyway at the uncomfortable look on Carter's face. "Normally I'm fully lucid and in control of everything but these out of control shifts, no, it's like I'm not there at all. Yes I can still shift when I choose to. Which I don't." Daniel swore half under his breath. “And that's exactly what you want me to do.” 

Carter winced and nodded. “Yeah.” 

"You want to see if he can still shift on purpose and if he's still in control?" Jack mused, and Carter nodded again. "We did that the other night. He can and he is."

"But," she prompted.

"It was harder than normal to stay in control," Daniel admitted unhappily. "The shifting's getting worse so it makes sense to see if my control's slipping too." He pushed himself to his feet, forehead wrinkled, nerves etched into his face. "What if... What if I lose control again?" He asked, quietly and reluctantly. 

"We're right here, Daniel." 

Daniel nodded and flashed a grateful look at Jack. "Yeah. Yeah, OK But I'm not shifting in front of you. Not again. I've done that too much lately." He turned and walked slowly into his bedroom. 

Jack reached into his jacket pocket and placed two tennis balls on the coffee table. “For later,” he told Carter, feeling her curious look

A few minutes later, a Golden Retriever padded back out the room, shook itself off, stretched and sat down in front of Carter. 

"Sir?" Carter sounded unsure, even as she reached out to run her fingertips across the top of Daniel's head. “This isn't the same dog I saw in Daniel's office.” She laughed as he headbutted her hand and licked her fingers. "OK, OK..." She smoothed a hand down his head, patting his side. 

“The puppy is part of the problem. Apparently this is 'normal',” Jack told her, making quotes with his fingers as he said normal. Daniel turned at the sound of his voice and crossed to him, head resting on his knee. "You with us Daniel?" Daniel huffed and thumped his tail on the ground, head tipped to one side. He barked once, panting when Jack rubbed a hand down his neck. "Remember we talked about your favourite thing for playing fetch?" Jack paused, waiting for Daniel to bark. "Bring me one." Daniel took a step backwards, shook his head and growled. "Daniel..." 

Daniel growled again, baring his teeth at Jack and shaking his head. He backed away, whining and trying to hide behind Carter's legs, head butting the back of her knees, ass hitting the sofa. He sat down, hind legs splayed, head between Carter's knees. 

Carter laughed and ran the back of her knuckles across the top of Daniel's head, spreading her legs as he slumped between them. "You don't like playing fetch?" Daniel snapped at her fingers and she slapped him gently on nose. "Hey, none of that!” Her hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide as she realised she'd just slapped _Daniel_ on the nose. “Oh my God, Daniel, I'm sorry!”

Daniel pulled away from her, snorting. With his spine straight and a toss of his head, he moved to sit in the center of the room, weight settled on his hind legs, tail tucked between them. His ears flat against his head, he bared his teeth and growled. 

“Easy, Daniel,” Jack murmured softly. 

“Of course you don't like playing fetch, you hate this whole shape-shifter thing,” Carter realised. She sat back and held her hands up in surrender, projecting an unthreatening posture, in response to Daniel's growling. She looked at Jack as she continued to speak "Daniel, we just need you to bring it to us, to prove you're still in there, to show us you're still in control. We're not actually going to ask you to play fetch, I promise." 

Daniel snorted, then let out an indignant huff of air that sound so much like Daniel that Jack chuckled. He saw Carter start out of the corner of his eye and turned to grin at her. Daniel slowly got up, shaking himself off before padding around the room. Stopping at the edge of the coffee table, he turned and looked at Carter and Jack, huffing and whining. Jack motioned for him to get on with it and Daniel sighed. He leaned over the table, pushing the ball around with his nose before managing to get his mouth around it and pick it up. He dropped the ball on Jack's lap, barked at him then turned and walked out of the room. 

“Guess he's shifting back again,” Jack said, turning the ball around in his hands. 

“Or... not,” Carter observed as Daniel came back out of his bedroom, still in dog form. “Daniel?” 

Daniel didn't respond to her, moving straight to the table and picking up the second ball. 

He dropped it at Carter's feet, nosing it towards her then dropped to the floor, watching her, his tail swishing back and forth. He barked and nosed it closer to her when she didn't pick it up, whining and pouncing forward. Picking the ball up, he turned and dropped it on Jack's lap before sinking back to the floor, panting, tongue lolling out. 

Jack picked the ball up and tossed it from hand to hand, smirking as Daniel watched him, twitching in place. "Thought you didn't want to play, Daniel?" There was no response from Daniel and Jack sighed. "Yeah, thought so." He swore and tossed the ball into the hall. Daniel chased it, tail wagging excitedly, claws skittering across the hard wood floor. 

"Daniel's not in there." Carter realised, frowning as she watched the dog. "He's responded to us all evening but now... He's lost control. So now what do we do, Sir?" 

"We play fetch," Jack suggested as Daniel ran back, skidding to a stop in front of Carter and dropping the ball at her feet, licking her hand. Carter laughed and picked the ball up, tossing it over Daniel's head to Jack. Jack threw the ball into the kitchen. "We wait for him to shift back, and then in the morning, we take him to see Fraiser. I don't care if I have to throw him over my shoulder and carry him there myself, he's damn well seeing the doc. I want to make sure nothing's changed in his blood or whatever, and then we figure this out."

"Sounds like a plan," Carter agreed, picking up the ball as it was dropped to her feet. She patted Daniel on his side before chucking the ball into the bedroom, wincing at the sound of crashing and barking. "Oops?"

Jack chuckled and shook his head. He switched on the TV and leaned back in the chair, alternating tossing the ball for Daniel with Carter. Eventually, Daniel flopped down on the floor, ball between his paws and yawned widely before closing his eyes. "I know how you feel, Daniel," Jack said around a yawn, rolling his neck and stretching his arms over his head. "You gonna change back, now?" 

A soft snore was the dog's only answer, making Carter laugh. "I think that's a no." She nodded her head towards Daniel's bedroom door. "Get some sleep, Sir? You look beat." She suggested. "Throw out some clothes for Daniel, and I'll stay with him overnight, in case he changes back."

"Carter..."

"And if he's not changed back by 3am, I'll wake you and you can take second watch." 

Jack rubbed a tired hand over his face and pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah. Yeah, OK" He stepped over the sleeping dog and walked to Daniel's bedroom. Grabbing Daniel's discarded clothes, he took them and a blanket and pillow back out to the living room. "If anything happens..."

Carter nodded. "I'll wake you," she promised, turning the TV to a sci-fi movie and the volume down low. "He'll be fine. I mean..." She gestured at Daniel. "This is _Daniel_, he's always... no matter what happens, he's always OK." 

"Yeah." Exhaling slowly, Jack nodded. "I hope so." He turned and made his way to Daniel's bedroom. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, he unlaced his boots and pulled them off, placing them at the foot of the bed. He shrugged out of his shirt and lay down on his back, eyes closed. Carter was right; he _was_ beat and a couple hours of good sleep sounded like the best idea in the world. Not that he thought he'd get much, if any, sleep – he was far too worried about Daniel.

The bed dipped, followed by a huff and a whine, and the press of a cold wet nose against his hand. "Really?" Jack sat up and opened his eyes, shifting sideways to give Daniel space to flop down next to him. "OK, fine, Daniel, you can sleep there." He let his hand drop to stroke Daniel's side, patting him gently. "But don't whine at me in the morning when you're naked in bed with me, OK?" A bark and a lick of Jack's hand was the dog's only reply, followed by a burst of laughter from Carter who was watching in the door way. "You may as well get some sleep too," Jack told her. "I got this" 

"OK" Carter nodded, then turned to leave. "I'll be in the living room if you need anything, Sir." 

*****

Jack stirred the eggs he was cooking, looking up as Daniel shuffled into the kitchen, dressed but dishevelled and limping in a way that made Jack narrow his eyes. His shoulder cracked loud enough to make Jack wince as Daniel pulled out a chair. 

"Coffee?" Jack greeted him, handing him a steaming mug. "You're limping, you OK?"

"Coffee." Daniel accepted the mug gratefully, wrapping his hands around it and leaning back in the chair. He inhaled deeply before taking a long drink. "Sore muscles," he said, lifting the mug back to his mouth. "Joints hurt." 

"Too much shifting?" Jack asked, placing a plate of scrambled eggs on toast in front of Daniel, then one for himself. He pulled his own chair up, carefully not looking at Daniel as he started to eat. 

"I guess. It's never happened before so it's probably related." Daniel grabbed a piece of buttered toast from his plate and took a bite. "What happened last night?" 

"How much do you remember?" Carter asked, walking in. She rubbed her hair with a towel then spread it out on the back of a chair to dry. Grabbing a mug of coffee, she straddled the chair, resting her arms on the back of it. 

"Um..." Daniel closed his eyes and took another drink of his coffee. "You wanted me to shift, to test my control. Jack asked me to get a ball. I... I know I shifted, I gave the ball do Jack but...” He screwed his face up, shaking his head. "I don't remember anything after that."

"You lost control," Carter told him gently, glancing at Jack when Daniel's face fell. She offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry." 

"We had an awesome game of fetch," Jack added. "Must've played for a good half hour, before you flopped down asleep on the floor."

"Well that could explain why I'm aching this morning," Daniel said dryly, one eyebrow raised. "If I fell asleep on the floor," he asked carefully, "why did I wake up on my bed?"

"You came in after me, jumped up on the bed and fell asleep. You'd shifted back this morning, I covered you with a blanket when I woke up." Jack pushed his empty plate away and took a drink of his coffee. 

"OK." Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head slowly. "OK. So now..." 

Jack looked Daniel in eye eye and saw the realisation in them before he spoke. "So now we go see Doc Fraiser,” he confirmed. “Find out what's going on."

Daniel fidgeted in his chair and licked his lips. "Think we'll make it as far as the infirmary this time?" 

Jack could hear the attempted humour in Daniel's voice, but it was overwhelmed by fear. He pasted a neutral expression on his face and shrugged one shoulder. "One way to find out." 

Carter finished her coffee and toast and stood. "I'll drive. "Sir, you try and keep Daniel calm." She bit her lip and met Daniel's eyes. "I don't suppose you've got any Valium?" 

Daniel shook his head. "I'll get my coat." 

*****

"What seems to be the problem gentlemen, Sam?" Fraiser crossed her arms over her chest and let her gaze drift over Jack and Carter before landing on Daniel, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, feet hanging down. "I can't normally get _any_ of you in here, even when you're sick or injured and now you're all here voluntarily." She narrowed her eyes. "Daniel, you look like hell." 

"I'm fine," Daniel muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm just tired."

"Uh-huh." She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "Well you're not running a fever." She reached for his his arm, pulled it away from his chest and pressed her fingers against his wrist. "Pulse is a little fast." She sighed when Daniel pulled his arm back, tucking his hands into his armpits. "Daniel..."

"I said I'm fine, Janet" he protested.

"He's not fine," Jack insisted. "Which is why he's here. He's been out of sorts for a couple of weeks, since we got back from..." He trailed off, snapping his fingers. "Damn the planet with the long days, that purple fruit that looked like a banana and tasted like an orange and that witchdoctor guy... Carter?"

"P7X-496," Carter supplied. She sat down in the chair next to Daniel, a hand on his arm. 

"What's been going on, Daniel?" Fraiser asked.

"He's been tired, ach..."

"Colonel, please," Fraiser interrupted. "I asked Daniel. Are you going to let me consult with my patient or am I going to have to ask you to leave?" Jack scowled but dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Thank you." Fraiser turned back to Daniel. "Daniel, I can't help you if you don't tell me how you're feeling," she said gently.

Daniel exhaled slowly and nodded. "I'm tired, I've got no energy. My joints and muscles are aching. My head hurts. I've got no attention span and I keep zoning out. Just... kind of a general under the weather feeling. It's nothing, probably just the flu but Jack's being all mother hen. So here I am." 

Fraiser nodded. "It sounds like a virus," she agreed. "But, if Colonel O'Neill was worried enough to drag you down here, I'm going to draw some blood and run some tests, just to be sure." She patted his leg as she turned to leave. "I'll be right back."

Jack watched her leave, moving to pull the curtain fully closed. "You doing OK there, Daniel?"

A soft whimper was Daniel's only reply and Jack looked around in time to see his body contorting as he shifted; the puppy sitting in the middle of the bed, in a pool of Daniel's clothes. The puppy crawled to the side of the bed and looked down before barking at Jack. 

Jack swore and moved to the other side of the bed, rubbing the puppy on the head. "OK then. Don't let him down from there, Carter. I'll see if I can..." He trailed off as the curtains opened and Fraiser stepped back through. "Head Fraiser off," he finished. "Hi Doc." 

"Head me off?" Fraiser asked him, one eyebrow raised. She looked over at the bed, doing a double take at the sight of the puppy trying to clamber onto Carter, tail wagging excitedly. “Colonel, why is there a puppy in my infirmary? And where is Dr Jack....” She trailed off as she looked back at the bed, her eyes landing on Daniel's clothes. Closing her eyes and opening them again, she looked between Carter and Jack, and sighed. “Please don't say what I think you're going to say.” 

Carter laughed nervously as she held the puppy on her lap; the puppy's paws on her shoulders as he licked her face. “Sorry, Janet.”

Fraiser nodded slowly and sat down on the side of the bed. “So when you said he'd not been himself, what you meant was...” she gestured at the puppy. “This.”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Jack agreed. “So if you could just take some blood, do the tests and we'll be out of your hair in no time.”

“I'm sorry, Sir,” Fraiser shook her head. “But I can't do that.” 

“What the hell do you mean you 'can't do that?'” 

“Sir, Daniel's just turned into a dog,” Carter interrupted. She put the puppy back on the bed. 

“Sam's right. I'm not a vet, I don't know anything about canine physiology.” She patted the dog as he nosed at her arm. “I wouldn't have a clue where to take blood from, and the last thing I want to do is hurt Daniel.” 

“Right. Yeah, of course." Jack ran a hand over his head. "So, what are we gonna do? Know any vets who can come take a blood sample?” 

“Or we could just wait til he shifts back again,” Carter pointed out. “Then come back and try again?”

“Does this happen a lot?” Fraiser asked, laughing as the puppy pounced on the fingers she was wiggling. 

“That's not for us to say,” Jack replied. His eyes widened slightly at the now-familiar shimmer across the puppy's fur. “Doc, you got a gown or something handy? Cos he's about to shift back and you're sitting on his shirt.” 

"How do you..." She shook her head. "No, never mind. A gown, right. Um." She pulled her hand away from the puppy, stood up, turned on her heel and walked swiftly through the curtains, reappearing moments later with a gown in her hands. "Here." 

Jack moved to shield the bed from her view as she returned. He glanced behind him to confirm Daniel had shifted back and was re-dressing, then tossed the gown on the bed. 

"Thanks," came Daniel's voice, followed by a rustling as he pulled his pants back on "OK, I'm decent. So..." 

"So, Daniel." Fraiser put her hands into her lab coat pockets, her attention focused on Daniel. "You... um.. didn't quite look yourself there for a moment."

"Janet." Daniel licked his lips and rolled his neck, wincing at the crack. He reached up and rubbed it, digging his fingers into the muscle. "Yeah, that's kinda the problem. Jack just.... we wanted... _I_ need to..."

"Figure out why you're turning into a dog." 

"Pretty much, yeah." He shook his head and looked up at Jack before dropping his gaze to his hands. "Actually, no. Believe it or not, turning into a dog isn't really the problem." He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I've always been able to do that." 

"Oh." Fraiser opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. "But there's nothing... " She shook her head and trailed off. 

"It's a lot to take in Janet, we know." Carter smiled sympathetically. "But we need your help."

"OK. And I can't believe I'm going to say this but if turning into a dog isn't the problem, what is?" 

"I've lost control. I'm shifting at random, with no warning and no idea it's happening. And I'm not supposed to change into a _puppy_." He laughed humourlessly. "I know this is a little outside your range of expertise." 

"How long have you been out of control?" 

"That I know of?" Daniel frowned. "Um. A couple of weeks, I guess. Jack?" 

Jack nodded. "About that." 

"You _knew_ about this, Sir?" Fraiser shook her head. "Of course you did." 

"If it makes you feel any better,” Carter interjected. “I only found out a couple of days ago but from what Daniel and Colonel O'Neill have said, I think it started just after we got back from P7X-496. We want to rule out any physiological changes that may have happened..."

"...which is why you want me to run some blood tests. But nothing in any of Daniel's previous medical history indicates that he has this ability, so I'm not sure exactly what it is you want me to look for." 

"Hopefully nothing," Jack admitted. 

"Ruling out nanites, pathogens, etc. etc. OK then." Fraiser looked out through the curtains, speaking too softly for Jack to hear. "Did anything out of the ordinary happen on that trip?"

Daniel shook his head. "Nothing that stands out. It was a fairly standard recon mission," he said, glancing up as Jack nodded his agreement. "There was no recent Goa'uld activity, none of the villagers we met worshipped them, there were no significant archaeological or scientific markers. There was the interesting fruit Jack mentioned but that's about it." 

"And the witchdoctor." Jack reminded him. 

"Ah, yes. The witchdoctor. I actually found him fascinating." Daniel pushed his glasses up his nose. The curtain parted and Fraiser took a tray from the nurse setting it down on the bed before she lifted Daniel's arm to locate the vein. "Although he was more of a shaman than a witchdoctor. Witchdoctors, in general, are healers who use traditional methods such as what we would contemporarily call homeopathy.” 

Fraiser nodded and tied the tubing around Daniel's bicep before lifting the syringe. Daniel winced as she drew blood. “The shaman we met was more focused on restoring the health of your mind-body-spirit continuum. We were lucky enough to witness him performing a ritual for the village – one of his regular mass healings, from what I understand. A form of meditation that he called transformative and rejuvenating, and I suspect involved the ingestion of a hallucinogenic drug in the tea he was brewing." 

"Hallucinogenic.... tea." Fraiser placed the test-tubes of blood on the tray and pressed a cotton ball against Daniel's arm. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I don't remember you telling me that on your post-mission medical. I assume none of you drank it."

"Um..." Jack, Carter and Daniel all looked at each other; none of them answering the question, and all of them avoiding Fraiser's questioning eyes. 

"I'm going to take your silence to mean you all drank it. So, any drug-induced hallucinations I should know about? Daniel?" 

"Well?" Jack prompted. 

Daniel shook his head, screwing his eyes shut. "I... I... don't... I can't..." He released his breath in a whoosh. "I have no idea." 

"Daniel?" Carter gently placed a hand on his arm, frowning when he shook it off. 

"Seems like a simple enough question. I just... can't remember. It's not normally something you'd forget, but it's not there. I can't.... nnngh." He pressed the palms of his hands to his temples, gasping as he closed his eyes. 

Jack was at his side in an instant, hand on his shoulder. "Daniel? Hey, come on buddy, I don't remember if I hallucinated but I'm not gonna beat myself up over it." 

"It hurts," Daniel's voice was soft, almost a whimper and he started curling over. "There's something but it's slippery and it hurts when I try... I can't.." 

"Don't try. Leave it, Daniel. Let it go. Don't force it if it's hurting you. Let it go." Fraiser coaxed him back, concerned look on her face. "That's it, come on Daniel. Leave it alone, don't push it, come back to us." A shuddering breath and Daniel slumped forward, Jack catching him. A heartbeat later and he'd shifted, whimpering puppy clambering into Jack's arms.

"What the hell just happened?" Jack demanded. 

"I have no idea." 

"Daniel said the ritual was designed to be 'transformative'." Carter mused aloud, fingers idly stroking the puppy. "Is it possible that instead of drugging him to cause hallucinations, the witchdoctor or shaman or whatever he was planted some kind of hypnotic suggestion in Daniel? Something that's causing him to shift out of control like he is?" 

"I suppose it's possible," Fraiser replied slowly. "But wouldn't that have required him knowing about Daniel's ability in the first place?" 

"Maybe he could sense it, or... " Carter trailed off. "I don't know. It was just a theory." 

"It makes sense the way Daniel was struggling to find the memory. It might be worth investigating more." 

"So, we need to go back to the planet, speak to the witchdoctor, find out if he said or did something to Daniel that's caused this." Jack placed the puppy on the bed, pressing its butt down to sit. "Sit. Sit! Good boy. Now, shift back. Not that it's ever worked before," Jack shrugged. "But, hey, apparently it is this time." Daniel's fur shimmered and Jack held up the gown.

"Thanks." Daniel covered himself with the gown. He took a few deep breaths and stretched out slowly, rubbing his shoulder. "What'd I miss?" 

"Daniel, do you remember if the shaman say anything to you during the ceremony?" 

Daniel frowned. "Yeah. He said... he said something about needing to stop hiding and... fuck... my head..." He grabbed at his head again, teeth gritted. "Stop being afraid of.. of... who I really am." He slumped down onto the bed and rolled onto his side, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to hurt like that, but I had to ask. I have a feeling I know what's causing you to lose control." 

Daniel sat up sharply. "Sam?"

"Well," Carter started but was interrupted by Jack. 

"You've been cursed by the Witch Doctor." 

"I'm not sure 'cursed' is the word I'd use, Sir. But essentially, yes." Carter paused. "I think maybe he used the drug in the tea to make you susceptible to the suggestion to stop hiding. I can't explain how it works, it's not my field but at least we've got somewhere to start."

"Great." Daniel pulled on his t-shirt and reached for his jeans. He bit back a yawn and slid off the bed, stumbling as his knee gave out underneath him. "I'm OK," he waved Fraiser and Jack away. "It's hurting more every time," he admitted at the unconvinced looks shot at him. "Joints and muscles and a headache. Don't worry about it," he reassured Fraiser when she apologetically told him she wasn't sure she could give him anything for the pain, not knowing how it would react with the changes in his system. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now," Jack answered and rubbed the back of his neck, "we find a way explain this whole crazy damn mess to Hammond and tell him we need to go back to P7X-496."

*****

"Let me get this straight, Colonel. You want me to authorise a return mission to P7X-496 because Dr Jackson has been cursed by a Witch Doctor and has turned into a werewolf?"

"I'm not a werewolf," Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed wearily. "I turn into a dog, not a wolf, which I've always been able to do, but something happened on '496 and I've lost control."

"Sir, I know what we're proposing sounds..." Carter trailed off

“Bonkers,” Jack filled in. 

"You're telling me it does, Major. I've heard some stories in my time – most of them lately having to do with you four – but this is really taking the cake. You honestly expect me to believe that Daniel Jackson has turned into, of all things, a dog." 

"Yes Sir," Jack replied. "We do. Carter and I have both seen it and so has Doctor Fraiser."

"He doesn't much look like a dog to me, Colonel."

"Nor to me." Teal'c tipped his head to the side as he looked at Daniel. 

“Daniel, now might be a really good time to... y'know... let your inner dog out,” Jack stage-whispered. 

“Sir, the way Daniel's losing control I don't know if shifting is such a...”

“Jack's right,” Daniel interrupted, scraping his chair backwards. “I don't like it, but he's right. I should... um... show General Hammond what we're telling him.” He took his glasses off and placed them on the table in front of him, then his jacket onto the chair. Stretching his arms over his head, he rolled his neck and closed his eyes. "This is gonna hurt," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else before he sank to his knees. He placed his hands on the floor in front of him, his back arching as his skin rippled and his joints popped and cracked, and moments later there was a puppy flopped down on the floor. 

Jack and Carter looked at each other. "Well that's new; I was expecting the full-grown dog." Jack licked his lips. "Daniel?"

Hammond stared open-mouthed at the puppy, sputtering as he tried to speak. "He..."

"Turned into a dog, yes Sir." Jack fought to keep the smirk from his face, instead bending down and reaching out for the puppy, wiggling his fingers. The dog stretched and yawned, licked Jack's fingers then padded past him, sitting at Carter's feet and whimpering until she picked him up. He settled down on her lap and turned in circles on her legs, before settling down with his head on his paws.

"Carter?" 

"He's asleep, Sir." She looked over at Jack, one hand petting the puppy. "He was already exhausted, I guess the last shift must have taken it out of him completely." 

"What in the blazes is going on here?" Hammond demanded. 

Jack nodded. "See, General, we're not actually nuts. Something happened on P7X-496 and Daniel has been... unable to control his shifting since we got back. That's why we really need to go back there, find out what started this and figure out how to stop it." 

"I see. And what happens if you come back and someone else starts changing into a dog, or worse?"

Carter and Jack looked at each other. "I'm fairly confident that won't happen, Sir," Carter replied. "Whatever happened on the planet didn't _cause_ Daniel's shape-shifting; he's always had the ability but he's no longer able to hide it." She ran her hand down the puppy's flank as she spoke, feeling it rise and fall with his breathing.

"Understood, Major." Hammond pressed his hands hard against the table and looked around at the team. "Teal'c, are you familiar with anything like this happening anywhere else?"

"I am not. But would the ability to turn oneself into a natural hunter not be a tactical advantage?"

"Maybe if he was able to control it and the shifting wasn't causing him pain!" Jack snapped, his voice rising. The increase in volume startled the puppy awake with a bark and he jumped down from Carter's lap. "Sorry little guy," Jack bent over and ruffled the puppy's head. "And Daniel would bite me for that!" He chuckled when the dog headbutted his hand before padding past him, stretching out and walking to Hammond, sniffing at his legs. He jumped up, paws on his Hammond's knee, tail wagging and tongue lolling out. 

Hammond chuckled and fussed with the puppy. "Sociable little fella," he commented as the puppy jumped down and continued exploring the room, sniffing and pawing at the table, chairs and carpet. "And you say he's not cognizant, that he's... he's not himself?”

"No, Sir. He has been before, responding to his name, fetching specific items when we ask for them – both after and before shifting. But he's lost himself more and more with each shift until he's gone and he's just..." Carter trailed off at the sound of the puppy growling and barking. 

"What's scared him?" Jack knelt down and looked under the table, eyes widening at the sight of the puppy snapping at Teal'c. "What did you do, Teal'c?"

"I did not do anything. He licked my fingers then started making that noise." Teal'c wiggled his fingers the way he'd seen Jack do, pulling his hand back sharply when the puppy snapped at him. "I do not believe he likes me."

“It's not that.” Jack said as the puppy fled back, hiding behind him. “He's terrified. Your smell probably confuses him.” He moved from kneeling to sitting on the floor and turned to look at the puppy sitting beneath his chair. “Daniel, it's only Teal'c.” The puppy whimpered, his tail tucked between his legs. “Hey, hey... easy.” Jack murmured calmly and reached a hand out. He rubbed his hand down the puppy's back, continuing to reassure him. The puppy moved forward slowly, his whimpering quieting.

“Sir, is he OK?” 

“He will be.” Jack didn't look at her, keeping his attention on the puppy clambering onto his lap. He continued the long, slow strokes down the puppy's back, exhaling when the puppy licked his chin. “Good boy, it's OK. So of course you choose _now_ to start shifting back. Great idea, Daniel!” Jack picked the puppy up and placed him on the floor, pulling himself to his feet and moving the chair out of the way. He shrugged out of his jacket and held it out, dropping it cover Daniel as he shifted back. “You back with us?” Jack asked as Daniel grabbed the jacket.

“I think so yeah.” Daniel looked around the conference room and sighed. “General Hammond, I...” He trailed off, jaw clenched and a pained noise escaping him. His body convulsed, back arched and he shifted again; the puppy crying from under the jacket.

“What the...” Carter frowned and lifted the jacket up off the puppy. The puppy barked and scratched his ear with one of his hind legs before standing up and shaking himself. She knelt down next to him, looking over at Jack. “Sir?” 

“I have no idea, Carter.” Jack shook his head, forehead creased in a frown. “He hasn't... Better get up, he's shifting again.” 

Daniel slumped face down on the floor and curled into the fetal position, panting for breath. “Jack... the fuck...”

“Will someone please tell me what is going on here?” Hammond demanded, moving to stand with Jack and Carter. “Dr Jackson...” He trailed off as Daniel shifted again, the puppy laying still on the ground between them, panting and whining. 

“It would appear DanielJackson is stuck shifting between human and animal,” Teal'c observed. “Both bodies appear to be in significant pain. Should I call Doctor Fraiser?” 

“I think that would be a very good idea Teal'c,” Hammond agreed. 

Daniel groaned, his eyes screwed shut and his teeth bared as his body contorted. “I can't... it hurts... make it stop... Jack... I....” A barely human howl escaped him and he shifted; the puppy making the same howling noise, flinching away and snapping when Jack reached out for him. 

“There's gotta be something we can do, Sir!” 

Jack looked up at the distress in Carter's voice and found her face mirroring the uselessness he felt. “I...” He shook his head. “I have no idea,” he admitted, wincing as he watched Daniel shift again; pain lining his face, eyes rolling back in his head. He was gasping, almost sobbing, his body shaking. 

“Please,” he choked out, thrashing on the ground as he shifted again. 

“I don't know what to do, Daniel” Jack whispered to the puppy, wanting to reach out and comfort him. The puppy curled up, shaking, teeth bared and crying. “Fight it,” he pleaded. “Come back to us.” He looked up, relief crashing through him as Fraiser raced up the stairs and into the room. “Doc, get in here and help him!”

“He's stuck shifting,” Carter moved out of the way, letting Fraiser kneel down next to Daniel. “It's been about fifteen, twenty minutes. Back and forth between human and dog. He's exhausted, he's in pain...” she trailed off, standing and pacing. “You've got to do something!”

"I'm sure Doctor Fraiser will do everything she can," Hammond said calmly. “And we should give her space to work.” He stepped back, but Jack and Carter didn't move from Daniel's side.

“I'm not entirely sure what I can do,” Fraiser admitted, frowning as Daniel shifted back to human again. “This is a little outside my...” Daniel grabbed her arm and she trailed off. “Daniel?”

“Please,” he gasped, his hand dropping as he curled into himself, body jerking as his muscles spasmed before he went limp. 

“Daniel!” Fraiser reached out but before she could check his pulse he shifted again. She swore and lifted her hand, wincing as the muscle spasms continued, the puppy's body bucking and jerking on the floor. She reached out and placed a hand on the puppy's side, feeling his breathing and heart-rate. “When he shifts back, I really need to check his pulse and I'm going to give him some muscle relaxants, see if that helps,” she decided. “I'm going to need your help to hold him down and we're going to have to do it quickly, OK”? 

"OK." Jack agreed, nodding. He opened his mouth to continue, but Daniel shifted back to human again. 

"Now!" Jack, Carter and Teal'c each grabbed one of Daniel's limbs, holding him as still as they could as he shook and fought again them. Fraiser swore as she took a knock to the side of the head, wincing at the pained cry that came as Daniel arched up, trying to pull free. “Easy, Daniel,” she crooned, gripping his arm and swiftly injecting the drug into him. 

“What now?” Jack demanded as Daniel shifted again; the puppy laying with his head on his paws, looking up at Jack with wide blue eyes. “Hey, everything OK there, Danny?” 

Fraiser frowned. “It should start to work in a few minutes, but I honestly don't know how it'll effect his shifting, if at all, or what effect it'll have on the... uh... dog,” she admitted, reaching out and rubbing the puppy's head. 

“He already seems calmer,” Carter laughed at the shocked expression on Fraiser's face as the puppy licked her hand. She pulled Fraiser back as he started to shimmer. The shift was a lot less violent and Daniel slid smoothly back to human again.

“Sam?” Daniel croaked, his voice hoarse. He coughed and laid his head back on his arms, whole body shaking. “What's going on?” 

“That's what we're trying to work out,” Fraiser replied. She reached out for one of his wrists, taking his pulse. “What do you remember?”

“I...” He shook his head and pulled his arm away from Fraiser. “Shifting. Hurts. Fuck.” He groaned, a tremor racking him. “No more.”

“Stay with us, Daniel.” There was a hint of pleading to Jack's voice that made Daniel look up again. 

“Can't,” he panted, his eyes sliding closed. “Too much.” He licked his lips, whimpering as he shifted again, the puppy taking his place on the floor. 

“Damnit!” Jack ran his hand down the puppy's side and the puppy rolled over. Jack obligingly rubbed the puppy's belly, making Carter bite back a laugh. He looked up and smiled at her. “The shifts are less violent but he's still in pain.”

“Perhaps I should return to the planet,” Teal'c spoke up. "I will speak to the witchdoctor and find out what he has done to DanielJackson. My symbiote will protect me once again from any rituals performed." 

“Good idea Teal'c,” Hammond replied, and Jack nodded as they left, distracted as the puppy demanded his attention, nipping lightly at his fingers, headbutting his hand. 

“Easy,” he murmured. “We'll sort this out. Teal'c's gonna go talk to your witch doctor and we'll find out what he's done. You just hang in there, OK?” The puppy barked at Jack and wagged his tail. 

“The puppy is definitely more himself,” Carter commented, moving from kneeling to sit on the floor. “But...”

“Yeah, just a shame he's not more Daniel,” Jack interrupted.

“That's exactly what I was going to say, Sir,” Carter agreed. “He looks exhausted. How much longer do you think...” She trailed off, biting her lip uncertainly. 

“I don't know.” Jack sighed, running his hand down the puppy's back. The puppy flopped down under his hand, limbs splayed out and he started panting and coughing. Jack frowned. “Hey... hey... Daniel?” The puppy didn't react to Jack's voice and Jack leaned in closer; the puppy was breathing fast and noisy, his mouth open. Jack's heart sank and he sat up sharply. “Fuck! Fraiser, he's struggling to breath...” 

Fraiser swore under her breath and nodded. She leaned over and grabbed her pack from where she'd dropped it when she ran in. “It’s probably the muscle-relaxant I gave him” she commented as she pulled out an oxygen mask, fussing with it as she fit it over the puppy’s muzzle. “Just breathe, Daniel. Slow and steady, can you do that for me?” She ran the backs of her knuckles over the puppy’s head. 

Jack turned his attention back to the panting dog at his knees. “C'mon, Daniel,” he encouraged, feeling the dog's chest rise and fall under his hand. “Just keep breathing. You can do it. That's it. Keep breathing. Fuck, this is... I know you have no control, Daniel and I don't even know if you can hear me but you have to shift back. Now. Shift back and the doc can do her thing, she can help you.” There was no reaction, no shifting; Jack snorted out loud. It wasn't like had actually expected there to have been, that he thought the puppy would shift on demand but that wasn't the point. “Damnit Daniel, just fucking shift back already!” He rubbed his temples with one hand and rolled his neck. “There's got to be something we can do.” 

Jack felt the fur beneath his hand starting to ripple as another shift started, and Daniel shifted back to his human form. “Daniel?” There was no reply and Daniel’s chest wasn’t moving under Jack’s hand. “Fuck, Doc, he’s...” 

Jack had barely finished speaking when Fraiser pushed him out of the way to kneel at Daniel’s shoulder, tilting his head back gently and checking his airway. “Carter, can you bag him while...” 

Carter pushed past Jack, bag in hand, and knelt down next to Fraiser. She deftly fitted the mask over Daniel’s face, squeezing the bag. While she worked, Janet moved to kneel over Daniel, and started compressions. 

"Fucking breathe, Daniel," Jack murmured softly as he gave them room to work. It seemed to take forever before he saw Daniel’s body jerk and his eyes opened as he gasped in air. 

"That's it, keep breathing." Fraiser rose slowly to her feet and checked Daniel’s vital signs. She nodded then looked up at Jack and Hammond. "We'll get him to the infirmary." She signalled to her staff, who were just outside the door, and the conference area burst into frenzied activity. 

Daniel was carefully lifted onto a gurney and Jack found himself cussing as he was shoved out of the way again. He squared his jaw but a gentle touch on his forearm stopped him from muscling his way back. Turning to look at Carter, he raised an eyebrow. 

"I know," she nodded. "But you need to let them work, Sir." 

Jack nodded sharply and rubbed the back of his neck. He took another step backwards, feeling helpless as he watched Fraiser and her team working on Daniel. Energy and adrenalin raced through him, his skin prickling with the need to do something and he started pacing back and forth, eyes fixed on Fraiser's back.

"OK, let's get him out of here!" Fraiser's voice cut through the furore in his mind and he turned in time to see the gurney being lifted down the stairs. "Are you coming, Sir?" She called over her shoulder. Jack was hot on her heels down the stairs, racing through the corridors and he could feel Carter right behind him.

***** 

Jack followed Fraiser’s team team the corridor, skidding to a stop outside of the door of one of the VIP suites. Fraiser stepped through the door, closing it behind her. 

Jack opened the door again. "This isn't... " He trailed off, looking down at Fraiser’s hand on his chest as she pushed him gently back out into the hallway. 

"This isn’t the infirmary, no Sir," Fraiser interrupted. "In case he's not done shifting, I figured he'd appreciate some privacy." Jack nodded in agreement and let her guide him to one of the chairs an airman had just placed against the wall as Carter took the seat next to him. "Give me a couple of minutes to get him comfortable, run a couple more tests and he's all yours."

"Thanks Janet." Carter leaned back in the chair. She sighed when Fraiser went back into the VIP suite and the door and it clicked shut behind her. "He's gonna be fine, Sir." 

"Yeah," Jack replied, unsure if she was trying to convince him or herself. Part of him felt he should be trying to reassure her but all he really had was the determination that this was not going to be the way he lost one of his team. "He'll be fine. He's Daniel." 

Carter smiled. "Exactly. He's Daniel."

They lapsed into a heavy silence, Jack alternating between leaning back against the wall behind him with his eyes closed and sitting forward, hands between his knees, staring at the door. He huffed and glanced at his watch; how much longer was 'a couple of minutes' going to take? "This is getting..." He trailed off, looking up at the sound of familiar footsteps coming towards him. "Teal'c. How did it go? What did the witchdoctor say? Was he helpful?"

"He was indeed," Teal'c confirmed, inclining his head at both Jack and Carter. "But what he told me is only for Daniel Jackson to hear."

Jack exhaled heavily and tried to curtail his growing frustration. "Of course it is," he muttered. 

"How is he?" Teal'c continued, ignoring Jack's interruption. 

"He's going to be just fine, Teal'c", Fraiser answered as she stepped out of the room and Jack leapt to his feet. "He hasn't shifted in about 20 minutes and I've given him a mild sedative to help him sleep." She held up her hand to stop Jack interrupting from and narrowed her eyes. "Yes, you can see him but he needs to rest." 

Jack nodded distractedly "OK," he agreed and crossed the corridor. 

"I'm serious," Fraiser insisted, standing in the doorway. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Jack. "Do not wake him, Sir. Sam, Teal'c... Daniel needs to sleep." 

"Let him sleep," Jack repeated, a growl to his voice. "I get it, Fraiser. Now let me through that door." 

"Good. See that you do." She smiled and turned away, walking down the corridor. 

Jack pushed the door open and sank down into the chair next to Daniel He frowned at how pale Daniel looked, dark smudges under his eyes, forehead creased even in his sleep. "What have you got us into this time, Daniel?" he murmured, scrubbing his hand over his face then rubbing his head. He looked up as Carter took a seat on the other side of the bed and Teal'c stood guard at the foot of the bed, hands held loosely behind his back. "He's gonna be OK," Jack said again, the sentiment stronger this time. 

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "DanielJackson has the heart of a warrior." 

"And more lives than a cat." Carter grinned at the comparison. 

Jack snorted. "Yeah. Someone sure gave him the wrong spirit animal." He heard Carter start to explain to Teal'c the myth of a cat having nine lives but tuned her out, turning his full attention to the sleeping man in the bed. Daniel was whimpering in his sleep, turning his head towards Jack. "Easy Daniel," Jack murmured, resting a hand gently on Daniel's shoulder. "We've got you. Sleep." 

Bleary blue eyes blinked open at Jack and Daniel groaned softly. "Jack?" He slurred. 

"Hey," Jack smiled. "You're supposed to be asleep." Daniel 'hmm'ed in agreement, his eyes closing again. "Fraiser will skin me alive if she thinks I've woken you," he continued. "So sleep." 

"'kay," Daniel breathed, and between one heartbeat and another was asleep again. 

Jack looked up at Carter, frowning at the lines around her eyes and mouth. "You should sleep too." 

"I'm fine, Sir," she protested, then bit back a yawn. "I can't..."

"You can," Jack nodded. "I'll stay with him. You go and get a few hours shut eye. " Carter opened her mouth to argue. "I could make it an order, Carter."

Carter sighed. "No need, Sir." She stood up and stretched. "You'll call me when he wakes up?" 

"I will," Jack promised. "Teal'c, can you make sure she goes back to her quarters, and not her lab." One look at the petulant look on Carter's face and he knew he'd made the right call. 

"Indeed." Teal'c gestured for Carter to exit the room and followed her. "Would you like me to make sure she remains in her quarters?" 

Carter made an indignant sound. Jack was tempted but shook his head. "That won't be necessary. You should rest too." 

Teal'c inclined his head and closed the door behind him, leaving Jack alone with Daniel. He exhaled slowly and rubbed his eyes. He stretched his legs out in front of him, crossed his ankles and folded his arms over his chest. Sleep sounded like a really good idea; he was beat, and Daniel would be out for a few more hours he was sure. "Sweet dreams," he murmured and closed his eyes, letting himself fall into a light sleep. 

*****

Jack stirred a few hours later with a groan. He arched his back and stretched his arms, then rolled his neck til it cracked, and he sighed in satisfaction. Pushing himself up to a proper sitting position, he looked down at his watch before scrubbing his hands over his face with a yawn. What had woken him at this ungodly hour? "Danny?" Daniel was restless on the bed, his head tossing on the pillow as he moaned softly, face scrunched up. Jack reached out, his hand resting on Daniel's arm. "Daniel?" 

Daniel whimpered and tensed under Jack's hand. He licked his lips and opened his eyes, struggling to focus before squeezing them closed again. "Jack?"

"Hey," Jack smiled, settling back in his chair. "How're you doin?" 

"Hurts," Daniel admitted. He opened his eyes again and met Jack's. "Wha' happen?" 

"Honestly? I have no idea." Jack stood and paced to the end of the bed, then back to his chair, nervous energy thrumming through him. "You got stuck shifting, for about 30 minutes and it was.." He trailed off with a sigh and shook his head. "You were screaming with pain. Fraiser gave you a sedative, a muscle relaxant." He picked up Daniel's chart and flipped through it before dropping it on a small counter. "You stopped shifting. And breathing. We performed CPR and you've been out for about," he looked at his watch again. "5 hours." 

"We?" Daniel asked, before moaning softly and rolling onto his side, curling his knees into his chest. "Fuck," he breathed, looking up as Jack stepped close to the bed. "I'm..."

"Don't even try and tell me you're OK," Jack interrupted. "You want me to get Fraiser?"

"No. Won't help. I need... the dog needs... I..." Daniel broke off into a low moan, his jaw set and his eyes closed. 

"To shift," Jack finished. He reached out for Daniel, then pulled his hand back, stuffing it into his pocket. "Then... shift?" 

"No," Daniel moaned. A shudder wracked him and he forced his eyes open, meeting Jack's gaze. "What if..." 

"I'll be here. Nothing's gonna go wrong." Another moan of pain and Jack almost missed the quiet acquiescence. He didn't miss the alarms as Daniel pulled out his IV and the leads to the heart monitor. "Um, Daniel?" But there was no reply and Jack looked back at the bed just in time to see Daniel shifting – the large Golden Retriever stretching out his hind legs on the bed. "Daniel?" 

The dog woofed and wagged his tail, scrabbling around on the bed to face Jack. 

Jack reached out and rubbed the top of the dog's head, scratching his ears. "You in there, Danny?" 

The dog woofed again, nosing at Jack's hand and licking his wrist. "I'll take that as a yes," Jack chuckled. He turned as the door to the suite slammed open and Fraiser came racing in. She skidded to a stop at the sight of the dog on the table and stared open mouthed. The dog barked a greeting at her and her mouth shut with an audible click. "Doc, meet Daniel. This... this is normal." Fraiser took a step forward, her eyes darting from Jack to the dog and back again. "It's OK, he won't bite." 

A nervous laugh escaped Fraiser and she moved to switch off the alarms on the monitors. "This is normal?" She asked and Jack nodded. 

"Yup. Well, normal for Daniel when he shifts." Jack ran his hand down the length of the dog's back. The dog arched under his hand and stretched out before flopping down on the bed on his stomach. He stared at Fraiser, woofing quietly. 

"Daniel?" Fraiser took another step forward and reached her hand out, petting the dog gently on his side. She laughed softly as the dog licked her hand and petted him again. "He's beautiful." 

"He's also fully aware. He'll make sure you remember you said that." Jack laughed as Fraiser blushed but continued to stoke the dog. 

"I can't examine him like this." Fraiser pulled her hand away, almost reluctantly. "I wouldn't know what to... I don't know anything about canine health." 

"He seems healthy enough," Jack replied, fingers cording through Daniel's fur, petting him. "If anything changes, if _he_ changes, I'll call you." 

Fraiser frowned but nodded. "Get some more sleep, Colonel. I'll be back in the morning to check on you both." She turned and walked out the door. 

"You've confused her. And you do realise by the end of the week she'll be some kind of expert in dog physiology." Daniel huffed, sounding amused to Jack, and stretched his forelegs out in front of him. He yawned then lay his head down on his paws. "Still tired, huh? Go back to sleep, Daniel." Jack sat back down, legs stretched out and cap pulled down over his eyes, and took his own advice, dozing off as Daniel slept. 

*****

The sound of quiet voices roused Jack from his sleep. He blinked a couple of times, a little disoriented then sat bolt upright as the events of the previous day came back to him. He groaned as stiff joints and muscles protested and the quiet conversation around him stopped. 

"Everything OK, Sir?"

"Uh-huh," Jack replied around a yawn. "Just peachy." He stretched out and stood up; Fraiser needed to get some damn couches, the chairs just weren't comfortable for sleeping in. "How you feeling, Daniel?" Daniel looked better. He had more colour in his cheeks and he'd shifted back again at some point in the night. He was sitting up in the bed, clothed and chatting quietly with Carter. 

"Better," Daniel nodded. "Back and legs hurt but Janet's given me some pain meds. The dog still wants to come out but I think I'm back in control." The 'for now' hung heavy and unsaid in the room, the silence almost becoming awkward.

"It is good to see you well, DanielJackson." Teal'c strode into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. 

"Thanks, Teal'c." Daniel smiled tiredly, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Look, guys, about yesterday. I..." 

"You don't have to apologise, Daniel." Carter squeezed Daniel's hand reassuringly. 

"No, Daniel, you don't have to apologise for lying to us all for years," Jack replied dryly. "For not telling us something that potentially put us all in danger.... Or for, y'know, keeping a secret that almost killed you in front of us!"

"Sir!", Carter protested, her eyes widening. "That's... not exactly going to help."

Daniel shook his head head. "No, Jack's right. It's something I probably should have told you. It's just.." He swallowed and rubbed his hands over his face. "It's not something I like to talk about. And it's it not exactly the easiest thing to bring up in conversation. What was I supposed to say 'oh and by the way I can turn into a dog'" A humourless laugh and he looked around the room. "And you wouldn't have believed me if I had. Sam, you thought Jack was drunk or high when he told you. Hammond was ready to send us to the funny farm."

Jack sat back down as Daniel spoke. "Daniel..."

"It's..." Daniel sighed. "It was never an issue, never a problem. It didn't have any impact on what we were doing so I didn't think you needed to know. I've always kept it under control so I wasn't going to randomly turn into a dog when we were off-world. 

"Until you couldn't."

"Well. Yeah." Daniel exhaled, his head falling back against the wall behind him. 

"Which brings us back to why you lost control now."

"The witchdoctor," Carter reminded them. "The drug in the tea, the hypnotic suggestion."

"Right. The witchdoctor from the purple banana planet. So what do we _do_ about it?"

"I believe I have the answer to that, O'Neill." 

Daniel sat upright, his eyes fixed on Teal'c. "You do?"

Teal'c inclined his head. "Indeed. I travelled back to P7X-496 and spoke to the witchdoctor. He confided in me that he had sensed you were hiding something you were ashamed of, something he felt you needed to come to terms with. During the ceremony he performed for us, he states that he gave you a concoction of herbs in your tea to assist you in your quest. He apologises for any unnecessary suffering his actions have caused and wishes to assure you it was not his intent."

"Well bully for him," Jack rolled his eyes. "I don't suppose he told you how to fix this damn mess he caused?"

"He did."

"And?"

"It is simple. DanielJackson, in order for you to regain control of your body you must seek acceptance. You must learn to make peace with the gifts you have been granted, to live as one being, to accept yourself wholly and not hide your true self in the dark." 

"That... isn't exactly my idea of simple, Teal'c, " Daniel sighed. 

"I do not believe that it is meant to be easy for you to do," Teal'c replied gently. "Just that it is necessary."

"You didn't say necessary though, did you?" Daniel snapped. "You said simple! And now you're saying it's not supposed to be easy. Hard and necessary do not equate to simple. So what's it supposed to be, huh? A nice simple case of me going 'OK, yes, hey guys the dog exists' and everything be fine again or something more elaborate."

"Daniel..." Jack frowned and stepped closer to the bed. He noticed Carter tensing in the chair, her hand tightening on Daniel's arm. "You should maybe calm down a bit."

"Calm down? Or what, Jack? The dog will come out again. Clearly that's what the fucking witchdoctor wants. What was it Teal'c said? Not hiding. Well he's made that impossible, hasn't he?" He pulled away from Carter and curled into himself, groaning as he shifted again. The puppy growled and backed away lit his butt was against the wall, baring his teeth. 

"Daniel?" Carter reached out for him and he lunged forward; Jack knocked her hand out of the way before the puppy could bite her. "What the..." 

"Did he get you, Carter?"

Carter shook her head wordlessly and the dog barked. "Sir, what the hell just happened?"

"He's angry and afraid, and we're crowding him. He's feeling threatened and lashing out the only way he knows how. It would probably be a good idea if we leave him alone. I'll stay with him for now, you two..." He trailed off and Carter and Teal'c nodded. "He'll be fine," Jack reassured Carter, noting her concerned expression. 

"Take care of him, O'Neill."

Jack nodded, sitting back in his chair as the door closed behind Teal'c. The room fell quiet other than the puppy's growls and Jack sighed. "Great job with the whole acceptance thing there, Daniel. Really sensing your inner peace shining through. Trying to bite Carter definitely helped seal the deal. Sure, you're scared and lashing out but you know she's only trying to help. That's all any of us are doing." He looked over at the puppy. "Don't look at me like that. You're the one who snapped at her." 

Shaking his head, Jack rolled his eyes; what was he doing, talking to the puppy like this. Like he was Daniel. Which, he reminded himself, he was. Daniel. The puppy. And Daniel needed to start thinking of them as the same, so did he. He pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the impending headache and wondered if he could get a beer. "Teal'c is right about one thing, there have been times this whole thing could have come in handy. You could've just shifted and ran back to the 'gate for backup, bitten a Jaffa or five. Plus, I would've paid good money to have seen the look on some snake-head faces when you came charging in." 

Jack chuckled in genuine amusement and looked over at the puppy, at Daniel he corrected himself, again. Definitely calmer and laying down, looking at Jack with sorrowful eyes. "You know, if you don't get over this and get yourself straightened out, you won't get to go out to those Ancient ruins SG-11 found. That whole planet full of writing to translate and treasures to find..." 

"That's not fair, Jack" Daniel replied quietly.

"Think of it as an incentive for good behaviour," Jack offered with a grin. "It's how you train a dog," he teased.

Daniel raised an eyebrow as he dressed. "Are you going to start smacking me on the nose when I'm a bad boy?" 

Jack pretended to think about it. "Tempting."

Daniel laughed and ducked his head. "Thank you. For staying. For... for... for being you." 

"Only person I know how to be." 

Daniel's lips thinned and he pressed them together. He looked up at the corner of the ceiling. "I wish I did, wish it was that simple."

Jack placed a reassuring hand on Daniel's shoulder. "You'll figure it out. _We'll_ figure it out.

"You really believe that," Daniel realised and let himself lean briefly into Jack's touch. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "You really believe we can get the shifting back under control."

"Sure I do. What have we ever faced that we haven't been able to solve?” Jack quirked an eyebrow, then reached over and handed Daniel his pants. "And you said you used to have control, so it makes sense that you will again. It'll take time but it'll happen."

Daniel quickly dressed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, OK," he agreed but Jack could hear he was not convinced. "Whatever you say, Jack." He pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead and sighed. "I'm gonna head down to my office, work on some of those translations." He moved past Jack and opened the door, almost walking into Fraiser. 

"And just where do you think you're going?" She asked, one eyebrow raised and her arms folded over her chest.

Daniel frowned. "Just down to my office," he said slowly. "I've got some translations... and why are you looking at me like that."

"No, you're not," Fraiser disagreed. She grabbed Daniel by the shoulder and turned him around, pushing him back into the room. "The only place you're going it back into that bed."

"But I..."

"No buts," Fraiser said sternly, then sighed at the look of confusion on Daniel's face. "Daniel," she continued, her voice gentler, "less than 12 hours ago you were suffering from seizures and stopped breathing. The only reason you're here instead of in the infirmary is out of respect for your condition." 

"But I..."

"I mean it, Daniel. Doctor's orders. I want you under full observation for at _least_ the next 24 hours. While your condition seems to have improved and you appear to have stabilised, I want to be able to monitor you in case of a relapse."

"Listen to the doctor, Daniel, " Jack urged.

"Thank you, Sir."

"OK, fine." Daniel huffed out a breath and scowled, crossed his arms over his chest. "24 hours," he agreed. 

"_Thank_ you. Now get some rest and I'll be back in a couple of hours to check up on you." Fraiser walked out the room, closing the door on Jack and Daniel. 

"I'm starting to think you're right about her," Daniel grumbled and Jack chuckled despite himself. "This whole thing is crazy, Jack. I have work to do, translations for SG-11 and I want to look at the pictures SG-14 brought back but no, I'm cooped up in here and for what reason? 'Just in case'. " Daniel paced as he spoke, hands flying in frustration. "I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine. Look, see? No dog. There's no dog here. I haven't shifted in..."

"About 45 minutes," Jack interrupted. "Sit down, Daniel. You heard the doc, rest. Have something to eat. Hydrate. You scared me, scared us all last night and we just want to make sure you're not gonna get hurt again."

"I'm _fine_!" Daniel insisted, throwing his hands up. "I just want to get back to normal."

"Normal, huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow. "And which normal would that be? The normal where you're hiding a huge part of who you are, or the normal where you're a fucking golden lab?"

Daniel scowled at Jack. "The normal where I'm just me!"

Jack snorted and bit back the sarcastic comment on the tip of his tongue. "Is that really so normal for you, Danny? You said you've always been this..." He gestured at Daniel. 

"Jack..."

"This _is_ your normal, Daniel. You and the dog are both you. And if you're going to get back to 'normal', you've got to get to grips with it again – whether you like it or not!"

"Are we interrupting?" Carter asked as the door opened and she and Teal'c stepped in from the hall.

"No." Jack responded, his eyes snapping from Daniel to Carter, and then back again. "We were just discussing... normal."

"Which is something we seem to have very different ideas on," Daniel sighed and sat down on the bed with his back against the wall, cross-legged

Carter sat down in one of the chairs opposite the bed and eyed Daniel thoughtfully. "Pretty sure our normal is very different to the general public's definition of the word," she said. Jack sat down next to her while Teal'c stood against the wall. He nodded at her to continue when Daniel didn't respond. "We acquired alien technology which we use to travel to different planets." She pointed to Teal'c. "He's an alien carrying a larval form of another alien. No offence, Teal'c. 

"None taken, MajorCarter."

Carter flashed Teal'c a quick smile. "I had one of those aliens in me. My dad has one inside him. The Colonel downloaded an entire alien civilisation into his brain. You ascended to another plane of existence. We've all swapped bodies. I don't think normal really applies to our lives." 

Jack leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He turned to look at Carter. "At this point, I think 'Daniel was cursed by a Shaman and is turning into a dog' is pretty much classified as 'just another Friday afternoon at the SGC'

"Today is Saturday, O'Neill."

"Oh, don't you start getting all literal on me, Teal'c. You know what I mean" 

The corners of Teal'c's lips curved up. "Indeed." 

"OK, yeah, so normal is relative and what's normal for us is weird for everyone else. I get that but..." Daniel trailed off, frowning. "Sam, your examples all relate to the Stargate, to things that have happened because of the places we've travelled to. This isn't like that. If it's even possible, this is more abnormal. Sure, the current... ah escalation problem is caused by an event on another planet but my shape-shifting ability is somethi..." Daniel's eyes widened and his mouth fell open into an 'O'. He swallowed audibly. "Oh." 

Jack smirked and gestured for Daniel to continue. "Go on." 

"It's something I've always been able to do." 

"And what does that mean?" 

"Jack..." 

"Sir, I..."

Without taking his eyes off Daniel, Jack held up one finger and hushed Carter. "Daniel..." 

Daniel exhaled slowly and stared up at the ceiling. "It means... it means that the dog, that turning into the dog, is normal. For me. Happy?" 

"Ecstatic." 

"So now what?" 

"Now we figure this out. Teal'c, what did the Shaman say again?" Carter asked, thoughtfully

"He said that DanielJackson was ashamed and had to seek acceptance, to make peace with his abilities and stop hiding who he truly is." 

"Right." Daniel pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. "And how do I do that?" How do I 'accept' the dog? How do I 'make peace' with the fact I turn into a dog?" 

Jack waited until Daniel looked at him before replying. "Be the dog. Be you." 

A lost, confused look came over Daniel's face and he opened his mouth to reply. 

"I think what the Colonel is trying to say is that the dog isn't a separate being that you turn into. Daniel, the dog _is_ you. You need to stop trying to be in control and..." 

"Just be," Teal'c suggested. 

Carter nodded. "And if the you that you need to be happens to have four legs, fur and a tail, then be that you" 

Daniel's voice was small and quiet when he replied. "You make it sound so easy."

"I wish it was." Jack moved to perch on the side of the bed. "Look, Daniel, the dog is you, right?" Daniel nodded. "And you're stubborn as hell." Daniel smiled weakly and nodded again. "You dig your heels in until you get your own way. That's what the dog is doing. It's tired of being ignored and it wants attention." 

"Sam just said I had to stop thinking of the dog a separate animal." 

Jack ignored Daniel's interruption. "So, give it attention. Don't fight the shift. Let it take over. Be the dog. Let the dog be. And when the dog realizes you're not denying it, that you're not hiding..."

"You think that will stop the uncontrolled shifting," Carter realised. "That the dog will stop forcing its way to the surface if Daniel stops suppressing it. That... could actually work." 

"You don't need to sound so surprised, Carter." 

"But what... What if that doesn't work?"

"Then we'll try something else, and we'll keep trying until we find the solution that does work." 

*****

Daniel turned off the car engine and leaned back in the seat, staring at Jack's cabin. He'd driven this far, and Jack probably already knew he was there so turning around again and leaving wasn't really an option. Not when he owed Jack. Jack's crazy idea had, after all, worked and he was back in control of his shifting. 

It had been a rough couple of weeks, letting himself shift when the need came over him, and taking time to be in his animal form but he was learning to balance both aspects of himself and it felt like he'd formed an alliance with his dog, both understanding each other. His dog had stopped forcing itself to the fore, he made sure to shift deliberately and there hadn't been a single incident of reverting to a puppy or shifting unintentionally in five days. 

Four days ago, Jack had left without saying a word, at least not to him. He wasn't answering his phone and Daniel knew Jack was still pissed at him. Admittedly, Jack did have every right to be and Daniel didn't blame him – he'd betrayed Jack's trust, he'd lied to him and he'd put the team at risk. And yet Jack had helped him solve his shifting problem. So yeah, Daniel owed Jack big time and had no idea how to make it up to him. He had a couple of six packs in his trunk but knew this wasn't going to be fixed by an apology, a hockey game, some grilled steaks and a beer, but it was a good start. He grabbed the tennis ball from the bag on the passenger seat and tossed it from hand to hand. He was fairly sure the rest of his idea would work. At least he hoped it did, because it felt like a silly idea. He still felt very vulnerable when he shifted but he trusted Jack - hell, when he'd been out of control of his shifts, he'd still trusted Jack, even in his dog form and he needed to express this in a way Jack would understand. He was pretty sure this would work. And, if he was honest, he was kind of excited by the prospect because... well... it had been a lot of _fun_ that time Jack had played with him. 

Squeezing the ball in one hand, he took a deep breath and got out of the car. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and dropped it on the seat then kicked his shoes off. "You can do this," he told himself as he walked up to the cabin. He paused before knocking on the door, then dropping his pants and shifting. He barked as Jack opened the door and nosed the ball towards him. 

~El Fin~


End file.
